Fudge Kitchen undergoes major rebranding and agrees sourcing from Luker Chocolate
pic: Fudge Kitchen
British confectionery business Fudge Kitchen has delivered a rebrand of its range, with a core emphasis on sustainability in improving packaging recyclability, writes Neill Barston.
The move has also involved the company switching some of its sourcing to ethically-focused Colombian-based supplier Luker Chocolate for its product series, represents a key repositioning of the company.
As the company revealed, its rebrand spans its entire range, shop fronts and website, including the creation of a new logo, which changes for the first time since 2012.
Managing Director, Sian Holt, said: “The branding change initially came about as we wanted to align the personality of our 6 high street shops with the premium gifting positioning of our wholesale and ecommerce sides. As part of this review, we felt it was the perfect time to explore more sustainable packaging options, whilst maintaining the artisanal luxury that Fudge Kitchen is known for.”
With the brand identity changing for the first time in over decade it will be a mammoth task for the business to roll out across all touch points. They will phase the changes, prioritising packaging and website design to begin with and following on with shop signage, uniforms and events & marketing assets.
Marketing Manager, Richard Parson, says “At Fudge Kitchen it was important for us to create a recognisable & consistent identity across all our channels and touchpoints, particularly our retail and online experiences. The pandemic gave us the time and opportunity to take stock and improve our customer service experience. We also underwent a complete range review, increasing our most popular product offerings & flavours.”
The packaging update has seen them moving to UK printed packaging, dramatically reducing their carbon footprint. On the outer box of each product, they’ve switched to plant-based inks and water-based glues, and all packaging is FSC certified and fully recyclable.
As part of the rebrand the Kent based confectioner has also recently switched to a new and more ethical chocolate supplier, Luker Chocolate. Alongside this, they are also beginning to phase out internationally grown cane sugar in favour of beet sugar grown in Norfolk.
Richard Parson commented: “It’s become increasingly important for us to consider the environmental impact across everything we do. Yes, we want to create a luxury gifting product, but we want to do it with a conscience. Our new branding is probably the most daring we’ve been in terms of design, but we wanted it to stand out on shelf and really speak to the brands traditional artisan heritage.”
Fudge Kitchen commissioned branding agency Smith + Village to redefine the brand look & feel. Each fudge gift box now comes in a bold new colour wave with the new logo featured front and centre. Embossed script and a scattering of bronze foil really elevate the look and feel to reflect the handmade gourmet fudge pieces found inside.
Alongside their own shops and e-commerce site, Fudge Kitchen are distributed by 190 wholesale partners throughout Europe, from independents, to subscription services to hospitality venues.
They partner with some of the UK’s most high-end hoteliers and luxury retail spaces, which has given them invaluable insight into luxury packaging trends.
Sian Holt says “There aren’t many brands within the confectionery world that are producing a luxury product in luxury packaging, and yet also managing to operate in a sustainable way. People are still questioning the compatibility of the two, and it’s been a journey for us as a brand to ensure we strike the right balance”.
