Launched in the UAE, Feli’s Kitchen is a locally grown frozen food puff pastry brand. Established by passionate entrepreneurs and food gurus, the client was looking for a strategic solution to enter a very competitive FMCG market, considering expected growth within the frozen food sector.
With a recently launched strong competitor brands within the same product offering, the frozen food category remains highly competitive, with the demand slowly growing over the years.
The client got in touch with the Jpd team with an objective to develop a strong brand that would appeal to young professionals, mothers and kids, as well as had a flexible approach to expand to various categories and appeal to various markets, both regionally and internationally. As a start-up business, the client was looking for cost-effective solutions that would help the brand to engage with the target market, as well as bring awareness within the market for the frozen food category, as a healthier quick snack solution.
What we did
> Brand Strategy
> Tone of Voice
> Brand Identity
> Packaging Design
> Brand Guidelines
Being a very exciting and promising project to be a part of, the brief covered several challenges that Jpd team had to consider prior to approaching any brand positioning or visual design work.
With remaining negative attitudes towards the frozen products industry among the target audience, and the lack of advertising budget for a start-up business, it was important to develop a simple yet strong story that would help with both B2C and B2B engagement. With various brands competing for the space on the market shelf, a strong brand story and market demand would ensure an easier entry to many local and regional supermarkets, which would be crucial for company success.
Launching with the regular range of puff pastry to test the market, the client planned to develop new recipes and launch innovative products within the Arabic and Kids range, which is why it was important to ensure brand flexibility and versatility for any potential and unforeseen product line extensions.
Jpd team performed an in-depth analysis of consumer purchase behaviour traits to understand the key needs and complaints among the target audience of young professionals, mothers and teens. The research consisted of mystery shopping, survey analysis, and desktop research, along with client interviews, which provided extensive knowledge within the FMCG sector.
Jpd team identified several challenges, such as “lack of time to spend with the family”,“difficulty of puff pastry preparation yet missing homemade flavours” and“running out of ideas for quick snacks for quests and visitors”. Combining them together with the opportunities and brand strengths of family-owned businesses and quality ingredients exclusively brought to consumers in GCC, the strategy team proposed brand positioning which centred around cherishing family moments, while not compromising on the flavour and quality of family meals and snacks, which was welcomed by the client and rolled out across all brand communication.
The creative team saw an opportunity to create a brand character, Feli, your home chef and a best friend in the kitchen. Having a brand mascot opened various opportunities to engage with mothers, as well as kids, who quite often help during the decision-making process at the store, based on the research performed earlier by the Jpd strategy team.
Relying on human psychology, where our brains are tuned to find faces so well, having Feli the Chef on the brand packaging, ensured attracting consumer’s eyes to the new products, where the bright colour of red and kitchen-feel photography was aimed to spark appetite and interest among passing by buyers.
Upon brand launch, Feli’s Kitchen quickly gained success in the UAE market, with its products represented by one of the UAE’s largest supermarket chains, Carrefour, capturing 30% of the retail market.
Currently, Feli’s Kitchen owns 25% of its product segment.
Due to great success in the UAE, the client decided to capitalize on the opportunity and launched across several markets within the same year, which exceeded the original business plan. Currently, Feli’s Kitchen products can be found in Saudi Arabia,Bahrain, Oman and Qatar.
"Jpd's work has been well-received, and won an award for the packaging. Organization and flexibility are hallmarks of their work. Consistent communication, responsiveness, and the ability to work with startups justify the investment and make them a valuable partner."
Lilia Saimua
Co-Founder of Feli's Kitchen
Transform Awards MEA
Silver Award Winner
Best use of packaging design