A QUINTISSENTIAL Scottish family food business has undergone its most comprehensive rebrand in 30 years as part of a national campaign for its real dairy ice cream.
A key element of Mackie’s of Scotland’s campaign is a new packaging design, soon to be available in supermarket freezers, and which reveals a new focus on ‘real dairy’ – the fresh dairy ingredients and taste which help set this product apart from some competitors.
The fresh design will be supported by a comprehensive marketing and advertising programme designed to attract more shoppers to real dairy ice cream.
The new look will reveal a clear and simple, modern design for the brand, with a new curved logo set over a bigger dairymaid taking pride of place on front of the tub, celebrating the brand’s farm fresh real dairy credentials.
Consumer research for the fourth-generation family-owned business established three fundamental pillars for its ice cream tubs: the blue colour, the shape of the tub, and the logo illustration of a dairy maid milking a cow.
These were the key elements that had to remain in the rebrand – both to show that this is a “real dairy” ice cream made with fresh milk and cream and to retain recognition of the brand that has developed over the years into Scotland’s top-selling premium ice cream brand, and fifth-biggest-selling take home tub in the UK.
Steve Curzon, Managing Director with Curzon Marketing, a food brand agency that works with Mackie’s, said: “The rebrand touches all aspects of the business – and is a response to the need to showcase to consumers, particularly those outside Scotland, the fundamental aspect which sets it apart from competitors – the Mackie’s real dairy difference.
“The brand identity will help customers understand its core values from just looking at the packaging – and this will be further explained with the launch of a new website and supported with a significant investment in digital advertising, email marketing, social media campaigns and a nationwide on-pack promotion this summer.
“It is an exciting time of growth for the company and every step has been carefully considered with aspects evolving naturally, the use of the dairymaid retains connection to the company’s traditional farm roots, yet the new logo and design has a fresh, modern dairy feel.
“Each development was backed up with research – on what is most important to consumers and how we can help shoppers outside of Scotland understand the product and it’s USP.”
Ice cream has been made on the family farm in Aberdeenshire since 1986, and there have been many developments during that time. From the introduction of new flavours, to advances in environmental care to vast developments in technology on the farm – on the product line and in the cow byre.
Karin Hayhow, Marketing Director and one of three sibling owners, said: “We have seen an increase in people reaching for Mackie’s ice cream as a simple pleasure over recent months. Traditional was our first flavour and remains the most popular in our range – it’s a celebration of real dairy ice cream with no added flavouring, not even vanilla.
“That spirit is why we wanted to highlight the dairy difference and to clearly show our consumers that using whole milk and fresh cream is fundamental to creating our signature smooth, creamy taste.
“Nearly everything is made here on the family farm, from renewable energy to the ice cream and our packaging. We even make a host of our ingredients and sauces here, from honeycomb to chocolate so it’s only right that the farming heritage takes centre-stage.
“My late father, who founded the ice cream business had a favourite saying: “No Change, No Chance!” With that in mind we are really looking forward to hearing what consumers think of the new packaging and hope that it will enhance shelf impact in stores, particularly south of the border.”
With a track record of Scottish Food & Drink Excellence and Great Taste awards, for a variety of flavours including Traditional, Honeycomb and Salted Caramel, there will be no changes to the recipes – but new flavours are added to the range each year.
Over the years the company has made over 100 flavours and currently make over 12 million litres of ice cream a year, supplying all major supermarkets in the UK and exporting their most popular flavours, Traditional and Honeycomb, to Asia.
2021 is set to be a year of innovation for the brand as Mackie’s prepares to release a new flavour of ice cream in the coming months, and the installation of an exemplar Low Carbon Refrigeration facility is well underway.
The new packaging will be accompanied by a new website for Mackie’s farm produced ice cream and chocolate range along with a new e-commerce facility.
The fourth-generation family farm, Westertown, in Aberdeenshire, North East Scotland is a working dairy farm – where Mackie’s make ice cream using fresh milk and cream from their own dairy herd.
The company’s sky to scoop ethos sees it create everything from milk to its packaging on site, powered predominantly by renewable energy – via four wind turbines, a 10-acre solar farm and a biomass energy plant.
