Prosperity Brownies
By extending the shelf life of its products and underlining the brand's premium positioning and ethical ethos, Prosperity Brownies has created a solid platform for national growth
Background
Prosperity Brownies was founded in 2005 by Paul and Jane Hatcher after the pair were encouraged by friends to turn their chocolate brownie-making skills into a business.
Made with chocolate chunks and frozen fruit and free of what the Hatchers have coined ‘naughty Es and Ps’ (e-numbers and preservatives), the premium brownies sold well and two years after launch the fledgling business was named Best Sussex Food Producer at the Sussex Food and Drink Awards.
Problem
In mid-2008, Prosperity Brownies' products were selling in around 30 outlets across the region including cafes, farm shops and a small number of Budgens stores. The company wanted to grow sales and achieve national distribution. But while the product was high quality, the packaging failed to play to its strengths.
There were two key issues to address: brand awareness at point of sale, and shelf life.
At that time, the brownies were sold loose or in a basic, plastic multipack bag. There was therefore little brand recognition by the consumer. This packaging also limited shelf life to ten to 12 days, depending on the flavour. The Hatchers had lab tested polypropylene wrapping, so they knew the right packaging could extended this to up to 30 days.
Response
Prosperity Brownies heard about Designing Demand through a regional advisor at Business Link in spring 2008. ‘We knew we had to do something about the packaging, but we weren't sure of the best way to move forward,’ Paul Hatcher explains. ‘We hoped Designing Demand would help us on our way.’
Working with Gavin Pryke, the Design Associate allocated to the company, Paul and Jane Hatcher undertook a formal analysis of every aspect of the business – from staffing, production and sales strategy through to unique selling points, company philosophy, competitors and other brands they admired.
The company already had a brand identity it was happy with and a commitment to producing quality products with quality ingredients. The brand's personality was premium, ethical and fun. Yet none of this was being communicated at point of sale.
‘It was a small business - far smaller than we usually see accessing Designing Demand,’ says Pryke. ‘But Prosperity Brownies was clearly at a tipping point - the challenge it faced was relatively straightforward, yet the opportunities that could be created by meeting it were significant.’
The preliminary analysis was an essential starting point for producing a detailed design brief for the packaging design. ‘It was the most thorough examination of the business we had done up until that point,’ Hatcher recalls. ‘And it helped crystallise not just where we were as a business but, more importantly, where we wanted to go.’
The next step was to invite four local design agencies identified by Pryke to pitch for the business - a decision-making process Hatcher says proved both eye opening and easier than he expected.
‘It quickly became obvious who we would and wouldn’t want to work with,’ he explains. ‘One of the most established design agencies of the four had slick credentials and great offices but we didn’t feel they understood us. Others only seemed interested in the money and quickly lost interest when we mentioned the budget (£5,000).’
Ape Creative was the agency the Hatchers finally appointed - a decision made on ‘gut instinct’, Jane Hatcher adds: ‘They had no airs and graces and we loved the work they’d done. There was a connection between us, so much so that by the end of that first meeting we’d already started coming up with specific ideas.’
Paul and Jane Hatcher took direct responsibility for managing the relationship with the designers and overseeing the design development process, meeting with the design team at least once a month.
Ape developed three packaging designs from which the company selected the one that best conveyed the premium, upmarket and ethical positioning they wanted. Key elements of the design included brown packaging bearing the existing brand identity, a window through which consumers could see the product, and an eye-catching palate of bright colours for each flavour that would help the brownies stand out better at point of sale.
The packaging chosen was sourced from 100% recycled material and used uncoated paper stock. Careful colour-coding of different flavours, meanwhile, meant that boxes for all varieties could be printed together, which was more cost effective.
‘The end result was strong – far more so than if we’d been left to our own devices to develop it, and less rustic and homespun than the initial ideas we’d had in mind before the start of this project,’ Paul Hatcher says.
Impact
The packaging was introduced in April 2009 and sales quickly grew.
‘One of our best customers, an independent retailer in Brighton and Hove, saw sales rise five-fold despite the fact we put up the price by 10p,’ Hatcher comments. ‘More than this, though, was the fact that their customers thought the brownies were better than before even though they were identical.’
Prosperity Brownies had previously been stocked in a few local Budgens outlets. This contract was expanded following the introduction of the new packaging, which has also led to an initial contract to supply six Co-op stores and preliminary discussions with Waitrose and a major airline.
Turnover in 2007-08 was £40,000, a figure now expected to double in 2010 with staff numbers growing from three to five.
‘Though a small business, it was clear from the outset that the company was ambitious,’ Pryke observes. ‘Participation in Designing Demand has undoubtedly created the step-change they needed to raise the business to the next level.’
Since the end of the project, Paul and Jane Hatcher have remained in contact with the Ape design team and plan to work with them again to develop a multi-pack version of the new packaging for possible introduction some time during 2010.
‘I wouldn’t say Designing Demand changed our approach to design, especially – we’ve always known what we like – but it has significantly raised the bar,’ says Hatcher.
‘It has also shown us the importance of not being swayed by the flash exterior or slick presentation of larger design agencies. We went with our hearts and would do so again because it’s the creative process that’s what really matters and getting that right comes down to choosing to work with the right people, people who really understand what you want to do.’