Finnebrogue rebrands Naked range as Better Naked as it launches first TV ad

Finnebrogue Artisan has renamed its Naked brand on the eve of its fourth birthday and is marking the occasion with its first TV ad campaign.

Now called Better Naked, the name change marks the evolution of the brand’s product lineup, which launched with nitrite-free bacon and has since expanded into an array of meat and plant-based foods.

It also heralds the start of a major plant-based push for 2022, the Northern Irish supplier said.

Airing on ITV in January, the new £1m ad push features a young vegetarian mum called Helen who lives with her meat-eating partner. She wants to make changes in the world and plumps for Better Naked products to feed her family.

“Our new television commercial, ‘Hungry for a better world’, not only encapsulates our restless drive to do better, but is a statement of intent as we launch a £1m TV campaign for the first time,” said Jago Pearson, chief strategy officer at Finnebrogue.

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“Our Naked brand has been an enormous success story since its launch four years ago. We have major ambitions for growth in the years to come and this refresh marks a natural point of evolution as we continue to branch out from our revolutionary nitrite-free bacon into a full range of meat and plant-based products that are good for people and good for the planet.”

A new Denis Lynn Scholarship for Sustainable Food Innovation in collaboration with Queen’s University, Belfast has also been launched in honour of the company’s founder and chairman Denis Lynn, who died in a quad bike accident on 2 May.

The food education scholarship opens for applications early next year and consists of a £20,000 award for tuition and living support, alongside an internship at Finnebrogue and what it described as a “renowned international food producer”, in addition to a placement at non-profit organisation Foundation Earth – which was the brainchild of Lynn and operates the new eco traffic light score scheme launched across the food sector in September.

Successful completion of the year-long Masters programme will result in a job within Finnebrogue’s innovation hub, the company said.