The challenge

Symington's recognised a key market opportunity in the instant soup category. The business strategy was to launch a new range under the existing Ainsley Harriott brand, which already had a presence in the category, and had a track record of de-mystifying new products such as couscous.

But how do you bring a hint of the exotic to the instant soup category? The fixture is currently dominated by uninspiring, safe choices that may provide a warm, comforting snack when you need it, but has little else to excite the taste buds.

Key insights from research revealed the need for some degree of explanation of the product idea, clear ethnic signposting and also a slightly ‘softer’ approach – the category language was perceived as ‘square’ and masculine.

We needed to do all this and still achieve standout and relevance in a category with low food values high artificiality and dominated by brand colour codes.

Strategy and activation

The core strategy was to use the World Kitchen sub-brand developed for a previous project under the Ainsley Harriott brand - a dinner kit range. This immediately set the platform of travel, inspiration and new exciting flavours, but the product also needed a quickly recognisable symbolism that keyed into taste expectations.

What was required was a simple, iconic idea that provided a platform for the product concept, supported a diverse range and provided easy recognition of flavour cues.

Several activation routes were developed from travel poster graphics to location photography of recognisable landmarks, but the idea of the ‘traveling line’ was chosen for its simplicity and immediacy – which both play into the essential product attributes.

Execution and results

The ‘travelling line’ illustration runs across the front of the range, visually uniting them thematically, whilst evoking a sense of origin and authenticity.

The distinctive black livery combined with Ainsley's image offers reassurance to the consumer and the on-pack colours closely follow those commonly used in the chilled ready meal category. The overt masculinity of the black pack is softened by the patterned curved border and use of a ‘chalk board’ sub-descriptor in Ainsley’s own evocative language.

In the meantime the client is delighted by initial results across the multiple retailers. In category terms the product is virtually flying off the shelf up to a very healthy 30 units per variants per store per week. Currently listed in Sainsbury’s and Waitrose, this equates to around £100,000 in sales per week.