Kepak Convenience Foods is hoping to widen the appeal of it Rustlers brand – and turn around declining sales – with a less ‘laddish’ look and expansion into paninis.
The revamp was in response to the changing age profile of the brand’s consumers, said Kepak, many of whom continued buying into their late 20s and 30s.
Rolling out this month, the new look retains many of Rustlers’ familiar visual elements but has ditched the tagline ‘0 to tasty in seconds’ as the brand looked to move away from ‘laddish’ associations with speed.
“Rustlers’ audience has changed and the brand is no longer the sole preserve of lads and young men,” said Kepak marketing director John Armstrong. “This is reflected in the new pack designs. Masculine-looking packs have made way for designs we know appeal to Rustlers new, broader 16 to 34-year-old target market, 40% of which is female.”
As part of its plans to widen the appeal of the brand to 25 to 34-year-olds, Kepak is next month launching Rustlers paninis in two varieties: chicken & pesto and pepperoni (rsp: £2) into retailers including Tesco, Sainsbury’s and The Co-operative Group.
Sales of Rustlers have dipped 7.5% to £70.8m [Nielsen 52 w/e 11 October 2014], after Morrisons delisted the brand a year ago in favour of CP Foods’ Taste Inc range. Armstrong told The Grocer Rustlers was in growth in all other channels and that he was confident Morrisons would eventually relist the brand.
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