Red Lion Foods, which donates all post-tax profits to armed forces charities, has become a multimillion-pound brand after less than five months in the market and is celebrating with a revamp.
The brand, which launched its 70-strong range of household staples in October, is worth £18.9m [Kantar Worldpanel 52w/e 23 January 2011] and has already achieved 17% penetration with 4.4 million UK households buying products in the past year.
It had so far donated over £250,000 to charities and was "on track" to hit its £2m first-year donation target, added MD Andrew Gidden, speaking exclusively to The Grocer.
The company was now hoping to boost awareness further and "inject humour" with the brand by revamping the range's packaging, he said.
"We were trying to do too much on front-of-pack because there were so many things we wanted to communcate," he explained. "We want to have a lot more fun with our packaging as it's missing the humour you get with the military. We plan to take the brand on a journey focusing on product quality, charity and value for money. I would love to be sitting here next February with a £150m turnover brand and I think we can do that."
The new branding, which is reminiscent of the wartime Keep Calm and Carry On poster, will hit retailers' shelves on certain products later this month with a full rollout by September.
Red Lion has also launched "The Great Hash Off" competition for the best Red Lion corned beef hash recipe. Entrants are invited to upload a two-minute video of their recipe online with the best entries from the RAF, Navy, Army and general public winning £1,000 each. Recipes will be tested by a panel of judges, including Sir Ranulph Fiennes, at the Union Jack Club in London in April.
The company is launching new lines in time for Easter and the Royal Wedding, including a canned red salmon product, which will benefit charity Fishing for Forces.
Red Lion's portfolio now contains more than 50 products.
The brand, which launched its 70-strong range of household staples in October, is worth £18.9m [Kantar Worldpanel 52w/e 23 January 2011] and has already achieved 17% penetration with 4.4 million UK households buying products in the past year.
It had so far donated over £250,000 to charities and was "on track" to hit its £2m first-year donation target, added MD Andrew Gidden, speaking exclusively to The Grocer.
The company was now hoping to boost awareness further and "inject humour" with the brand by revamping the range's packaging, he said.
"We were trying to do too much on front-of-pack because there were so many things we wanted to communcate," he explained. "We want to have a lot more fun with our packaging as it's missing the humour you get with the military. We plan to take the brand on a journey focusing on product quality, charity and value for money. I would love to be sitting here next February with a £150m turnover brand and I think we can do that."
The new branding, which is reminiscent of the wartime Keep Calm and Carry On poster, will hit retailers' shelves on certain products later this month with a full rollout by September.
Red Lion has also launched "The Great Hash Off" competition for the best Red Lion corned beef hash recipe. Entrants are invited to upload a two-minute video of their recipe online with the best entries from the RAF, Navy, Army and general public winning £1,000 each. Recipes will be tested by a panel of judges, including Sir Ranulph Fiennes, at the Union Jack Club in London in April.
The company is launching new lines in time for Easter and the Royal Wedding, including a canned red salmon product, which will benefit charity Fishing for Forces.
Red Lion's portfolio now contains more than 50 products.
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