Upfield has revived the I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter brand, just under two years after it was rebranded I Can’t Believe It’s So Good, to accentuate its versatility and plant-based credentials.
The relaunch after its “brief dalliance” with a new name includes the addition of an I Can’t Believe It’s Even Butterier Gold variant to the brand’s existing Original and Light line-up.
And in a departure from Upfield’s shift towards plant-based ingredients across its major brands, all three products will continue to include buttermilk as a key ingredient.
Upfield said the Light variant contained just 27 calories per 10g serving, while the new Gold variant was designed for baking and butter enthusiasts, providing the “closest comparison to butter” in the lineup. The spreads started rolling out into supermarkets last week (rsp: £1/500g tub for the Original and Light variants and £1.30/500g for the Gold variant).
The ditching of the I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter brand name was designed to convey the message the spread could satisfy “a range of consumer needs, from spreading and cooking to baking and frying”, said former owner Unilever in January 2017.
However, Upfield now believed it was time to return the product “to its glory days”, said its UK & Ireland CEO David Salkeld. He described the brand as iconic and “a jewel in our crown” which would “bring fun and personality back to the category”.
“We recognise the need to offer consumers a quality product at a great value price point, and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter does just that, as well as being highly versatile,” he said. “We expect the relaunch to be a huge hit with consumers who will instantly recognise the brand as it starts to flow back into fridges across the UK.”
The relaunch has been supported by PR and social activity, in addition to in-store shopper marketing, such as shelf barkers, aisle fins and trolley panel advertising.
I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter has endured a difficult few years on the back of a shopper switch away from spreads to butters.
Sales fell from £74.8m in 2011 to a low of £13.5m in 2017 [Nielsen/The Grocer Top Products Survey]. However, the brand saw an increase in value sales in 2018 to £19.4m and hit the £20m mark this year.
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