Bagged nuts brand Big D – once ubiquitous in pubs across Britain – is hoping to return to its former glory by making itself more inclusive.
Synonymous for decades with scantily clad ‘Big D Babes’ on its promotional displays, the brand has introduced packs inspired by 1950s sci-fi imagery – featuring a “diverse team of gender-fluid space explorers, foraging the galaxy for peanuts and cashews”.
The new-look now appears across a snack portfolio that includes Salted Peanuts, Dry Roasted Peanuts, Salted Cashews in packs from 50g to 400g.
“We wanted to show that you can have cheeky humour without being sexist. So, we challenged our designer to serve Barbarella with non-binary vibes,” said Big D chairman Luke Pagarani.
Launched in 1967, the brand’s halcyon days were in the 1970s and 1980s. Big D’s final ‘Babe’, Rosie Jones, retired shortly after Liverpool owner Trigon Snacks was saved from administration in 2013 by Choithram & Sons – a self-proclaimed team of “intersectional feminists”.
“We do sometimes get people asking us to bring back the Big D Babe,” said Pagarani. “But when we tested our new designs, we were pleased to discover that they were popular with everyone – from our traditional consumer base who enjoy a salty snack with a pint, to our new vegan consumers looking for plant-based protein.”
Big D joins a growing number of fmcg brands working to be more inclusive and highlight social injustice. Most recently, Bud Light partnered with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney (which in the US sparked outrage among the far-right).
In January 2022, M&M’s modernised its mascots to highlight “the importance of self-expression”. And at the height of BLM protests in 2020, Mars dropped the name Uncle Ben’s for its rice due to the racist connotations, in favour of Ben’s Original.
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