Epoch revives ‘Batchelors’ with a sense of cohesion
Good food identity across the entire portfolio.
Batchelors has been one of the UK’s most loved brands for over a century. However, with new competitors and cheaper alternatives filling the shelves, the brand has fallen on hard times. By implementing a refreshed, optimistic new strategy, the Epoch brand company has helped Batchelors reinvigorate the brand with a fun, exciting, and irresistibly delicious evolution across a broad product portfolio that includes soups, pastas, and sauces.
Batchelors has been a British icon since 1895. However, with declining penetration and market share, the company was facing turbulent times. Working with our partners at “Premier Foods,” we identified three big challenges: the range was not cohesive, the products were not perceived as ‘tasty,’ and the brand was not seen as relevant. One thing was clear… We needed to prepare our 100-year-old brand for the next 100 years.
Like the brand, Batchelors’ audience was facing tough times too. Climate change, the cost-of-living crisis, a global pandemic, political instability, international conflicts… Unpredictability had become predictable, leaving people desperate for some familiarity. In our survey of category buyers, 76% agreed or strongly agreed that “when life feels uncertain, I seek comfort.”
At a time when positivity seems to be in short supply, Batchelors is giving everyone a little boost. And that’s something they can confidently claim. The core brand leads in “convenience,” which is one of the key purchasing factors in the category. Batchelors leads in blind taste tests, and more than half of category shoppers describe its sub-brands, such as Super Noodles, as fun.
The agency had a brand that could offer truly delicious flavors and was known for its history of fun, so it seemed natural for their strategy to focus on the “feel good” factor. Celebrating a little bit of a daily lift, we knew that Batchelors would once again satisfy the UK population’s hunger.
As a primary source of well-being, the design agency centered around the rich flavors of Batchelors, unapologetically celebrating food. In its fullness. Allow it to rise and overflow with strength. Warming, steaming, sizzling. It had to be delicious, an irresistible, unmissable pleasure.
Working with specialist food photographer Marc Haydon, they shot every product in the portfolio in macro. This close-up approach highlighted each product’s lip-smacking look and exaggerated the brand’s rich, tantalising taste.
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