Allinson Flour Redesign

Designed by Family (and friends), United Kingdom.

The UK flour category gets a good dusting off.

Brand packaging agency Family (and friends) has developed a new look for Allinson Flour to help boost the brand’s sales.

The brand has a great reputation in bread flour and yeast, but awareness that there is a culinary range has been very low.

One of the main problems has been that the range isn’t aligned with the typical culinary consumer; baking is a fun pastime and it requires ingredients that customers should enjoy shopping for, even their flour!

Family (and friends) were chosen, without a pitch on the basis that they had been responsible for the recent updating of the Allinson bread range, so were off to a head-start in understanding the brand’s story and values.

First and foremost their job has been to create something that would surprise and drive purchase intent. “We wanted to find a really modern and exciting way to penetrate the category, to be seen as a brand that helps inspire and surprise home bakers”. Says Matt Smith, Category Head of Baking at Silver Spoon.

“The target consumer isn’t the ‘cupcake and once a year birthday cake makers’, it’s appealing to ‘accomplished’ bakers; people who bake a lot for practicality as well as pleasure, so the rebrand needed to be bold in its newness”. Says F&f creative Director Alex Durbridge. The flour market has changed recently and become really hip – especially with the trend for bake-offs.

“Who in the 21st century western world actually has to bake anything at all? You can buy anything ready made, sometimes with exceptional quality that’s hard to emulate in your own kitchen. The key insight is that home baking is fun – a hobby-craft that needs ingredients to create the joy. So why should it be a worthy and functional category?” says F&f strategy Director Derek Johnston.
New designs were developed and researched to assess their appeal and standout compared with the current look. The ‘The Sack Pattern’ design performed better than the current packaging, particularly for the culinary sub-range. The design was highly appealing for its modernity and the vast majority of people were “happily surprised” by the design.

These bold geometric patterns, with their logical colour-ways and design system, allowed people to more easily spot and navigate the range. F&f have also re introduced the original Allinson trademark windmill back into the identity to give a greater sense of heritage and recognition.

Before and After