How gluten free companies can benefit from working with a creative agency

Britain’s shopping basket is going free-from, with Brits dodging dairy and going off gluten and grains at a growing rate. We have forked out an extra £230m on free-from food and drink in the past year.

That’s a rise of more than 40%!

This 40% growth has not only been driven by consumers who have medical conditions that require free-from diets, but also by what we refer to as free-from lifestyle choices – a growing market of people who are choosing to cut certain ingredients from their diet for health or lifestyle reasons.

Innovation in this upcoming food and beverage market has made gluten-free foods more palatable, helping to boost the sector’s profile; for this reason, the market has outgrown appealing exclusively to those who are needs-based, and recent statistics have shown that one in ten people, and even 15% of UK households, are set to be avoiding gluten and wheat altogether.

With the ever-growing market now rallying for more choice and flavours, there has never been a better time to look at what is likely to propel the purchase: packaging.

Packaging design and why it even matters

The best well-branded food packaging can elicit a Pavlovian hunger response. Ask yourself: have you ever seen a McDonald’s bag and experienced that un shakeable craving?

Free-from companies can also benefit from well-executed packaging design, exponentially increasing their brand recognition. Take supermarket giants, Aldi and Lidl, for example; both of whom launched a free-from label in August 2017. Within a crowded retail space, the average supermarket will stock more than 40,000 items – what better way to enhance a product’s appearance and memorability beside competitive brands, than through bespoke packaging design?

Furthermore, did you know that 40% of consumers admit that they would share a picture of a product’s packaging on social media if it was interesting enough? Social media interaction alone can boost awareness and generate engagement around your brand – you just need the packaging to have that special quality.

That’s where we come in.

We understand that food packaging is a crucial design discipline; with your target audience/demographic and USP in mind, we aim to develop and design packaging that reflects and represents your brand perfectly. By staying on-brand with your identity and promise, we can help you stay at the forefront of your customer’s minds; however, we also realise that one generic style won’t work for everything, and we are always willing to adapt.

Our belief is that packaging can describe much more than where the product came from; it can also communicate a powerful message to its audience. You just need to decide what your message is.

Any good food brand should follow the following principles when considering packaging design:

Make sure it can be seen on the shelf (impact)
Make sure it engages shoppers (relevance)
Make sure it communicates key messages
Make sure it sells

We advise you to keep it simple, keep it honest. When it comes to food packaging, the design should show the product contained within: if a consumer cannot identify what you are selling, they are likely to walk on by. Always be straightforward: keep it clear and clean in design, font and wording.

Your packaging will interact with hundreds of people: it is absolutely a missed opportunity if it is not branded and properly designed.

How we have helped gluten free companies stand out

Over the last six months, we have worked with three different gluten free companies, producing and designing packaging sleeves, menu cards, thank you cards, banners and business cards.

1. KO-CO Brownies

KO-CO Brownies are an upcoming gluten free and dairy free chocolate brownie brand. The branding we designed for them followed a nature-inspired image and conveyed the brand message professionally.

How did we help KO-CO Brownies?

We designed and produced the following:

Brownie watch straps for a range of flavours
Menu cards
Thank you cards
Labels for packaging
Banner for market shows

We worked towards the customer brief and created a design that would match their target demographic and express their target message efficiently.

2. Bak’d Cake Co.

An award-winning, family run, free-from brand which offers artisan treats to enjoy baking at home. All of the recipes produced and offered were developed by the family themselves, inspired by their own experiences to create alternative solutions to nut allergies and gluten intolerance.

How did we help Bak’d Cake Co.?

We produced a range of high-quality printed packaging for the baking at home kits, which incorporated different colours and styles to match the various flavours they had to offer.

3. gf2go

gf2go is another business created to solve a problem within the industry and offer more choice to those with gluten intolerance. They produce gluten free bread, brownies, cakes, cereals, pies and a range of puddings.

How did we help gf2go?

We produced high quality packaging to protect and advertise their sticky toffee pudding products.

Our promise to you

As you can see, we pride ourselves on equipping companies with the essentials they need to stand out. With product innovation expected to grow, we have realised the potential our business model and services have to help any food or drink business stand out in this lucrative industry.

We take full advantage of our ability to offer the full marketing solution in-house, all under one roof, which has huge potential for any business wanting to get noticed (and noticed in the right way)!

From photography, branding and even to vehicle livery, we can refine every touchpoint of your customer’s journey. In the gluten free industry this has never been more relevant. The potential for new brands entering the market every month is very high and the market is quickly becoming saturated; therefore, having packaging that stands out and makes an impact could be the crucial finish you need to maintain your place on the supermarket shelves.

Remember, your product's packaging should communicate what your brand stands for, and what it means for your customer. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to create a lasting impression on the shelf and in the minds of your customers.