ABOUT

What needed doing
We’d worked with Debbie and Andrew Keeble before when we created their original sausage brand. As a result, when they wanted to start afresh, we were the first people they approached. Our task was to develop a new super premium sausage brand from scratch – one that would have the same impact on the category as their previous brand – attracting new consumers and repositioning sausages as a creative ingredient, more than just ‘bangers 
and mash’.

Since the original brand’s innovative black trays and pack design had become the category standard, we needed to communicate the family’s heritage and farmers’ market quality in a fresh way – shaking up the category and setting a new standard once again.

How we went about it
When we unearthed a Keeble family motto ‘what the heck’ – we knew we had 
the basis for a great brand. This saying represented the family’s determination to always use the best quality ingredients and processes, even if it cost them time and money. The name, ‘Heck’, reflected their bold approach and uncompromising attitude and was a complete departure 
for the category – championing taste 
and quality, first and foremost. 
This was supported with a confident, straightforward tone of voice – the voice of the Keeble family.

When it came to the design, we employed the Keeble’s ‘no compromise’ approach and developed a strong, bold look and feel with bright colours – shaking up the fixture and inspiring creativity amongst consumers. Carefully chosen cues hinted at the quality and authenticity of the product – including the butchers’ hooks and upper-case marque – and the overall simplicity of the pack hinted towards the honesty and integrity of the product. Each pack also includes recipe suggestions inspiring consumers to see Heck sausages as a premium food ingredient that they can be creative with.

We also made sure that the brand would live beyond the pack – developing website and social media platforms as well as other brand activation concepts that helped to launch the brand.

What our client said
‘Having worked with Elmwood before, we know how effective their work can be to make sure new products truly hit the mark with retailers and consumers as well as jumping out on the shelf. We worked with them from the conception stage of the brand and their input has helped us create a unique and striking design and concept that I feel will really resonate and stand 
out in today’s market.’
Andrew Keeble,
Founder, Heck

Results
£0-£1.1m retail sales in the first 6 months