BGN, the Manchester-based, brand-led design and digital agency, has designed and created a brand refresh and packaging project for Burgess Excel’s pet food range.
The Burgess Excel brand was established in 1998, but the business can trace its roots back to the seventeenth century, when the Burgess family’s ancestors ran the flour mill at Fountains Abbey in North Yorkshire.
Over the centuries Burgess has continually diversified and in the 1980s it started to focus on the production of small animal feeds. Since then, it has grown to become one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of pet food. It sells direct to customers via its website and the range is also stocked across the UK including at major retailers such as Pets at Home, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Amazon.
The new packaging will be rolled out both in-store and online. The creative execution was one of evolution rather than revolution to ensure brand equity was maintained. The refined Excel brand includes a new tailored colour system and hero photography that ensures customers can quickly find which packs are suitable for their small animals. Careful attention has also been paid to position Excel closer to the Burgess master brand. The Excel range includes specific feed for rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters and gerbils.
David Newton – creative director of BGN – said: “The aim of this project was to refresh the Burgess Excel brand and bring it up to date by elevating its visual impact and on-shelf appeal. We think we’ve done that without forgetting its existing, and incredibly loyal, customer base.”
Peter Lancaster, head of marketing at Burgess, added: “The BGN team understood what we wanted to achieve with this refresh. The new packaging designs create real standout without losing our brand essence which is so important to us.”
