Stage 3: Refining
The Bord Bia Consumer Insight & Innovation
team partnered with Swift Fine Foods to help
refine communications and branding around and
innovative ready meal range. This workbook case
study details how we ensured consumer insight
was at the heart of the innovation process.
INSIGHTS & INNOVATION WORKBOOK
Swift Fine Foods
Growing the success of Irish food & horticulture
Stage 5:
Building a Brand
Stage 6:
Expression
INSIGHTS & INNOVATION WORKBOOK
Swift Fine Foods
PROJECT BACKGROUND
Founded in 2000, Swift Fine Foods is a County
Monaghan based manufacturer of chilled and
frozen ready meals available in both foodservice
and retail channels. All their meals are designed
and prepared by chefs and carefully hand placed
so that the meal looks appealing in pack.
One of Swifts Ready Meal Ranges (called
“Home Bistro”) used an innovative packaging
technology that allowed consumers to serve
a restaurant standard meal in a visually
appealing way. We worked with them to refine
communications around that innovation and
developed a brand identity that captured this
unique consumer benefit.
BUSINESS ISSUE
CONSUMER ISSUE
Swift Fine Foods compete in a highly
competitive ready meals category
dominated by own label. They needed
to protect their margin and grow their
business in Ireland and the UK.
Swift needed to understand if consumers
valued their ‘perfect serve’ technology and
how best to communicate the benefits
and create a brand that would appeal.
Their challenge was to exploit a unique
patented packaging innovation which
was unique to their range: a pull strip
on the bottom of the meal tray which
once pulled, allowed consumers to
perfectly set their meal on a plate.
Stage 3:
Refining
Stage 5:
Building a
Brand
Stage 6:
Expression
THE PROCESS
The Bord Bia Consumer Insight & Innovation team’s role was to
help Swift Fine Foods tighten down their product concept and
link it to consumer needs via the ‘Refining’, ‘Building a Brand’
and ‘Expression’ stages of the innovation process.
HOW DID WE HELP?
We used qualitative research and
in-home placement of meals to give
consumers the opportunity to cook
and eat the meals. Six qualitative focus
group discussions took place across a
range of locations and social classes
in UK market. A broad spectrum
of potential consumers from busy
professionals to parents to empty
nesters were included to understand
the underlying drivers and barriers to
purchase for each demographic group.
The ‘refining’ process allowed us to
understand how consumers used
and experienced the product, and
the key messages that needed to be
communicated.
The ‘Expression’ stage involved
writing a creative brief and working
with Swift to agree the core values
of the brand. The brand that was
developed was ‘Perfect Plate’, (a name
suggested by a consumer during the
discussion groups) as it highlighted
the point of difference for the brand.
Better graphics to explain the benefit
of this feature took centre stage on
front of pack. The side of pack was
improved to achieve on shelf impact.
Product photography was introduced
to increase the appetite appeal of the
meals and to reinforce the premium
positioning of the brand. A range of
4 recipes was repackaged under the
new brand and new look designs.
WHAT WERE OUR
INSIGHTS?
WHAT WAS THE IMPACT
ON THE BUSINESS?
The Perfect Plate appeals to a more
discerning pre-family consumer who
enjoys more premium meals for their
quality and near restaurant standard.
There is also an appeal amongst grey
/ empty nesters as they tend not to
cook for more than two people.
As a result of the repositioning,
rebranding and new designs the
range achieved listings with Tesco and
Spar in Ireland and negotiations are
continuing with two major UK retailers.
The packaging technology that Swift
developed gave them a genuine point
of difference in this busy category.
However, failure to communicate
this point of difference effectively
could result in a negative consumer
experience. Our in-home placements
revealed how some consumers
missed the ‘perfect serve’ technology
element of the product and had some
mishaps with preparation of the meals.
The main insight was that brand
communications on pack needed to
be rooted in the consumer benefit,
i.e. a perfect serve ready meal.
Bord Bia’s Insight & Innovation Workbook
This process was developed using best practice techniques detailed in Bord Bia’s
Insights & Innovation Workbook.
For more information contact:
E-mail: info@bordbia.ie
Telephone: (01) 6885155
Growing the success of Irish food & horticulture