The brands we favour are New Covent Garden Soup (undoubtedly the most available ­ and tastiest ­ fresh soup about) and Baxters because it's posher than Heinz. The Baxters packaging suggests an indulgent, single serve, ethnic soup. We're not sure what the black background does for the brand. Baxters is synonymous with a fresh clean white. However the black does imply quality. While the product shot is attractive, the typography is lazy, going for a corporate one style for all' approach rather than evoking flavour and origin. Audrey's signature is the most exciting typographic element. Background colours are a little washed out, and in the case of Peking, irrelevant and offputting. Now for the taste panel: six battle-hardened creatives and account handlers set about the product in an orgy of slurping and spluttering. It was like listening to ducks paddle through mud. The flavours were Thai Chicken, Cantonese Hot and Sour, Indonesian Vegetable and Peking Shiitake Mushroom. The consensus was as follows: Thai was the most liked out of the four flavours, although it lacked a little in chilli kick. Cantonese Hot and Sour reminded me of runny alphabetti spaghetti with cayenne pepper. The Indonesian was all cumin and no coconut, very disappointing. The Peking Shiitake Mushroom really put the Shiit in Shiitake. Our initial flavour hit was a whack of soy ­ like taking a face full of black belt plimsoll. Not good. All flavours were considered a little one dimensional, very much letting the brand down. This would be a soup we would buy on impulse but never come back to. Soup is the new salad, so they say. I'm sorry Baxters, but overall this is a wet lettuce. {{P&P }}

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