Mr Kipling gets a new look and sweetie lines

Premier Foods is revamping the Mr Kipling brand and quadrupling its marketing spend on the range to revive sales.

The company is this month rolling out new packaging with a contemporary and food-focused look that is designed to make the brand more relevant and “emotionally resonant” for consumers.

In a bid to reverse a 5% year-on-year slump in value sales to £159m and a 6% fall in volume sales [SymphonyIRI 52w/e 26 November 2011], it is also rolling out products inspired by classic British sweet shop flavours under its Mr Kipling Inspirations range.

Fruit Salad Mini Batts Battenberg cakes and snap packs of Pineapple Slices (both rsp: £1.49) would encourage shoppers to think of cake “outside the teatime occasion”, said Premier Foods brand director for cake Michelle Wilde.

Sales of Inspirations, which launched in 2009, have buffered Mr Kipling’s recent performance, with last year’s Great British Puds products helping the sub-range generate £17m since launch.

The latest launches and brand refresh will benefit from four times the marketing spend of 2011, said Wilde.

The first ad would kick off next month, followed by further TV, outdoor and in-store activity and sampling throughout 2012.

Last year, Mr Kipling attempted to breathe new life into the brand with its first foray into fresh cakes, plus snap-pack Angel and Lemon slices.

“Ramping up food values and shifting the emphasis towards on-the-go eating addresses fundamental problems with Mr Kipling as fewer people want a sit-down tea or ‘manufactured’ cake,” said Tom Ellis, director of insight and innovation at Brand Genetics.

“This relaunch is built on a clear understanding of what’s at the heart of the brand,” he added.