A look at the process, insight, design and outcome of our work with a pet food business and its two key brands.

1. Judge’s Choice Pet Food
Branding Case Study
11.20

2. from this … … to this.
How we transformed a pet food brand
2

3. from this … … to this.
… and another
3

4. Contents
5 The history
7 The problem
8 Research
9 Positioning
12 Creative development
16 Nature’s Harvest
25 Country Pursuit
4

5. Judge’s Choice brand history
Judge’s Choice has been making dog food for nearly 30 years.
By producing consistently high quality products they have earned a loyal
customer base, a healthy portion of market share and a royal warrant
(endorsed by the Queen’s working dogs).
They are sold online, in country retail outlets and petfood stores
across the UK and abroad.
5

6. Country Pursuit:
A dry food for working and
active dogs, bought in bulk.
Nature’s Harvest:
Wet food sold in individual sealed
packs, for the domestic market.
Product lines
6

7. • Premium product looked cheap
• Old fashioned branding
• No discernible voice
• Confusing brand messages
• Inconsistent branding
• Increased competition for listings with key buyers
• Lack of clarity and overload of information
The Problem
7

8. • The marketplace is saturated
• Lack of innovation in the pet
food industry
• Clear signposting of flavours
and product variants is
critical to purchase
• Design consistency makes a
big impact (especially if you
have a strong shelf presence)
• Need to connect emotionally
with customers
• Pet owners are prepared to
pay for premium products
with percievable benefits
• Loyalty to a name is no
longer enough
Research found …
8

9. Positioning
FOR POSH DOG OWNERSFOR DOGS WITH MEDICAL NEEDS
FOR OWNERS OF COUNTRY DOGSFOR ATYPICAL
(ENVIRONMENTALIST)
DOG OWNERS
FOR OWNERS OF
WORKING DOGS
FOR DOG OWNERS WITH A
SENSE OF HUMOUR
FOR PERFORMANCE DOGS
Most competitors make it
clear who they are aimed at:
9

10. Tone of voice
SERIOUS LIGHTHEARTED
SCIENTIFIC HOME COOKED
EXPENSIVE AVERAGE BUDGETGOOD QUALITY CHEAP
SERIOUS LIGHTHEARTED
SCIENTIFIC HOME COOKED
Mapping our
competitors tonal
spectrum helped to
inform the strategic
design direction.
10

11. Our research allowed us to define two clear customer profiles:
• Country dweller
• Farming stock
• Male
• Urban and rural
• Professional
• Female
Country PursuitNature’s Harvest
11

12. Creative development

13. How do most royal
brands do it?
We found that the other ‘royal’ brands wore
their credentials on their sleeves.
13

14. Redesigned logotype
Redesigned logotypeOriginal logotypes
*Please note updated RRP's
14

15. Royal credentials
on parade
Redesigned logotypes of the brand family
15

16. Nature’s Harvest

17. Nature’s Harvest customer
• Urban and rural
• Professional
• Female
• Affluent
• Discerning
• Quality-driven
17

18. Design inspiration
We looked to
brands that were
understated to
evoke quality as
our reference.
18

19. Imagery
We used
intimate portrait
photography
to convey the
nobility and
character of dogs
in an honest and
unsentimental
way.
19

20. Colour
We employed
a subtle, food
inspired colour
palette that
spoke to a
discerning,
‘foody’ target
market.
Chicken
chicken
tripe
duck
rice
lAmb
rice
oceAnfisH
rice
Chicken
sweetpotAto
sAlmon
SWEETPOTATO
SALMON
RICE
turkeY
RICE
lAmb
sweetpotAto
20

21. A complete set of
icons was used
to differentiate
products by their
features and
benefits.
Iconography
21

22. Packaging
22

23. Packaging
With a complex
range of flavour
and age variants,
we created a
flexible design
system.
23

24. The result
was a canine
gallery, giving
customers
a wealth of
options and
choices.
24

25. Branding
The brand has applications
across a range of
collateral.
25

26. Branding
26

27. Country Pursuit

28. Country Pursuit customer
• Country dweller
• Farming stock
• Male
• Buys in bulk
• Looks for quality
reassurance
28

29. Inspiration
A rough, rustic look,
using hand-made print
techniques was used as
reference for the design
of the new brand to evoke
traditional rusticity.
29

30. Colour
Strong, overlaid
colours that
reflected the
previous colour
design were
chosen to give
the brand
energy, yet
retain customer
recognition.
chickenmixer
muesli
lambtripe
advancedblendrestmaintain
workplay
30

31. Imagery
We created a set
of illustrations of
the working dogs
the product was
made for.
31

32. Packaging design
32

33. Packaging
innovation
We helped rationalise the
product range, making
sure naming was logical
and clear. Working with
the production supplier we
helped develop a pack that
is structually strong, easy
to reseal, and ecologically
sound while retaining the
brands rustic essence.
33

34. The brand was
given the scale
and range to
evolve into new
touchpoints.
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35. Branding
35

36. Branding
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37. Don’t just take our word for it …
“Although it was obvious we needed our two lines of dog food to look better, Brenton Blue
went further and clarified various problems we had encountered over many years. They
worked on the brand architecture and planned and executed a whole new information
system on pack to make it easier for customers to quickly see which product to purchase.
I think their strength lies in being able to look holistically at a brand, identifying
inconsistencies and disconnects which have been holding it back, then transform this into
a simple and elegant solution … which adds a huge amount of value to our business, not
just aesthetically, but also financially. The re-brand is great work!! Thank you so much!”
Chieko Chester, CEO Judge’s Choice
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38. If you’d like to talk to us about your design or
branding challenges, please get in touch …
hello@brentonbluestudio.com
brentonbluestudio.com