Fox's Vinnie

Fox’s has pledged to bring game-changing NPD to biscuits over the next three years.

MD Colin Smith set out his vision for the future of the business as he announced the latest step in the reinvention of the Fox’s brand - a £10m marketing push fronted by Vinnie the Panda that will include TV ads breaking on 4 October.

“We are getting ready to bring things to market that haven’t been seen before,” he said, adding NPD would drive 50% growth in the size of the brand in three years. Fox’s sales are £117m and have fallen 2.7% year on year [Nielsen 52 w/e 17 May 2014].

Former M&S food development head April Preston, who joined Fox’s owner 2 Sisters this year as innovation director, had been “scouring the globe” for new ideas. “We will introduce concepts that will contemporise biscuits,” said Smith.

While most activity will be in sweet biscuits, Fox’s will also extend its presence in savoury. Its wholemeal crackers would be refreshed and expanded with two new SKUs early next year, said Smith, adding further development would happen next summer.

Smith has brought in a new export controller and team to realise the brand’s “phenomenal” export opportunity, while £20m has been invested across the business’s three manufacturing sites plants to increase efficiency and flexibility. This would enable the business to produce different formats for foodservice, where Smith admitted Fox’s branded presence was “virtually non-existent.”

The four-week TV push - which will be supported by print, sampling, and online - follows the introduction of new brand message ‘More Yum Per Crumb’ and a packaging revamp featuring a new, larger logo, and improved photography. The Fox’s range has also been simplified, with activity focusing on five ‘hero’ ranges.