Yoghurt specialist Rachel's Organic is dropping the word 'Organic' from its name to simplify its brand identity.

The Welsh dairy company has already begun replacing packaging with the new branding and will continue to phase it in as new or improved lines are introduced.

It had made the move after a brand equity study last year showed consumers preferred the simple name 'Rachel's' and many shoppers already referred to the company by the single name, said marketing director Steve Clarke.

"In light of the research, we have streamlined the brand hierarchy so the logo simply features the name Rachel's in its current signature style," he said. Rachel's rejected the suggestion it was trying to distance itself from the organic category and insisted the word 'organic' would still feature prominently as "an important and clear descriptor of our dairy products and their ingredients".

The move is significant in light of the difficult market conditions facing organic producers, with volume sales of organic yoghurts and pot desserts down 5% year-on-year [IRI 52w/e 24 January].

Rachel's official corporate identity had always been Rachel's Dairy, and this would remain unchanged, added a spokeswoman. The first line to sport the redesign is a new multipack yoghurt range. The Fabulous Fruits probiotic yoghurts feature the strapline 'Organic luscious low fat' and come in strawberry, peach, raspberry and rhubarb flavours.

The new format line, which goes into stores this week, includes an improved pot-snap design to make it easier to separate the pots, the company said. They will also feature the Rachel's logo embossed on to each individual pot.

The addition of the logo and restyled packaging would make the multipacks stand out more on shelf, said marketing manager Andrew Curzon.

Sales of the multipacks, which come in four variants, rose 13.75% by value in the 12 weeks to 21 February [Nielsen].

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