Whitworths

Whitworths’ reputation as a baking ingredient business in a commoditised and increasingly dreary category was hampering growth, and their platform of ‘health’ didn’t bear scrutiny.

By repositioning how the business saw the business - from an ingredient co-packer with a disparate and challenging portfolio, to a ‘nutrient powerhouse’ - we reframed the entire purpose of the organisation and the people working there; one focusing on the importance of nutrition to improve physical and mental wellness.

By putting the brand on a platform of something deficient in most of the Nation’s diets, we unlocked millions of incremental usage occasions - identifying simple changes people can make to their daily eating habits. We were also able to unify and celebrate Whitworths’ existing portfolio whilst providing a clear nutritional pathway for future innovation, category leadership and comms.

“We needed a strategy framework that could be applicable for everyone from the CFO to the forklift truck driver. I have every confidence Ian and his team’s work will meet the targeted £30m incremental EV in 3 years." Whitworths’ CEO

The corporate strategy was unveiled during an event at the Gherkin featuring Henry Dimbleby MBE, with an esteemed panel discussing a newly-minted report by the British Nutrition Foundation on the importance of nuts, seeds and dried fruit in chronic disease prevention.

Internal operationalisation of the business transformation, along with a consumer launch programme that included TV advertising, PR, sampling, events, shopper marketing and an award-winning new pack design, all contributed to double-digit sales growth and a return to pre-tax profits.