Seven Seas Cod Liver Oil has arguably been an intrinsic addition to the cupboards of many UK households over the decades. Sitting alongside paracetemol, Lemsip, and other medicine cabinet mainstays, Cod Liver Oil has played a key part in many people's daily health routines.
However in recent years, consumers have become increasingly more demanding with the vitamins, minerals and supplements they use to complement their diets. The high street offers numerous options for the willing customer, while supermarkets also offer a wealth of options that can cater for even the most dedicated health enthusiast.
As a result, competition is fierce and packaging plays an integral role in helping promote the product in hand above rival alternatives on the market. With this is mind, Seven Seas initially approached UK-based brand design consultancy Elmwood in 2009 to redesign its famous Cod liver Oil product, a relationship that has continued across the Seven Seas range to this day.
According to Mark O' Donnell, creative services director at Elmwood, the key to this original brief was that Elmwood was not reinventing the brand but modernising it using effective printing methods and as a result, propelling it and firming its position in today's crowded market.
"Cod Liver Oil had lost its appeal to some degree for the modern consumer and it had become commoditised with own brand alternatives on the shelves," he says. "It was important to remind the consumer why Seven Seas are the leader and absolute specialist in their field. It was also important to emphasise the health and lifestyle benefits of the product."
When approaching the redesign, the focal point of the new-look packaging was a halo, which would encompass the name 'Seven Seas'. The typeface used is new but incredibly familiar so not to dissuade loyal customers that the product is different than they are used to.
"We recreated the logo within a halo, which added lightness and brightness to the packaging and really dialled up the red brand colour," explains O' Donnell. "The brand took centre stage on pack and the new colour worked to make sure the product really stood out on shelf. The lightness of the halo rings came together to result in a modern and confident brand mark. The rings also suggest flexibility and fluid dynamic movement; one of the product's key benefits."
Another key facet of this simple, though effective design was the inclusion of the term "Since 1935" under the brand name. This helps to highlight the history and heritage associated with the product and offer a level of differentiation of market competitors.
During this fruitful four-year long partnership between Elmwood and Seven Seas, O' Donnell stresses the importance of close collaboration with the print supply base in order to ensure each product is both seamless and of the highest-quality possible.
This includes considering how to achieve the best print finish early on, or according to O' Donnell how Elmwood can deliver brand consistency across various substrates or with different suppliers. Though the firm would not be drawn on which printers and repro houses they use to fulfil its Seven Seas projects, Elmwood says that is sets its clear expectations and parameters from the off.
"At the end of the project when our work had started to come off the production line – we received feedback from our client at Seven Seas, just to say their repro agency had commented that our artwork files were "the best they'd ever received, both in quality of build, accompanied with the input from our team on the technical side throughout the project," he explains.
While print production and finishing quality is paramount for both parties, special finishes didn't play a major role in the Cod Liver Oil revamp. However, Elmwood employed innovative process such as cast and cure UV holographic coating for a recent redesign of the Seven Seas Complete Multivitamins range. This enabled the firm to adopt a spot pattern holographic effect on the product box.
"We always encourage print trials as part of our design development work, especially when we are working on a new brand as this helps to get everyone aligned early on. This allows us to sit down and review how brand colours are being represented in print, but also manage expectations too," explains O' Donnell.
As a result of the Cod Liver Oil redesign, sales of the core product increased 11% from £1.38m to £1.53m during the first six months of sales. In addition, increased visibility across the range has driven the four major supermarkets to take on, on average, five new products from the Seven Seas range.
The group was also understandably pleased with the outcome of the project. "They helped us quickly establish the right strategy for Seven Seas, and their wonderfully experienced team rolled up their sleeves to implement it to perfection in a very respectable timeframe," says Sarah Day, marketing manager at Seven Seas. "They challenged us to be brave, helped us bring our vision into reality,?and opened up the potential for further future growth."