Insights: The promise of an end to compromise

At the Transform Awards Europe 2018, the best in rebranding and brand development was celebrated. FutureBrand is one of this year's winners

Health and wellness has become one of the hottest of topics – and for good reason. This category has seen year-on-year growth over the last five years, with consumers increasingly willing to invest in their mental and physical health. In particular, consumers will spend more on food and drink products they consider beneficial to their health.

Healthier food and drink choices have in part benefited from clearer on-pack labelling of ingredients and nutritional values, along with improved access to information via the internet. It’s now easier than ever for consumers to make an informed, healthier selection that’s based on detailed nutritional breakdowns, advice and tips.

Digitisation is accelerating our drive to better eating and more active living. More than half (51%) of UK adults now own a fitness gadget. Wearable technology such as Fitbit has made it easier to track our activity, and apps such as MyFitnessPal and Sleep Cycle have made it easier to measure what we eat and how we sleep.

Naturya – a major UK-based superfood brand – is playing, and winning, in exactly this space. It’s on a mission to change the way we eat by offering everyone the most nutritious foods that look amazing, taste great and make people feel better.

‘Whatever you do, do it for real’ is the creative platform that brings to life the difference Naturya makes in people’s lives. The focus is on the benefits; inspiring people to believe they can achieve whatever passion or ambition drives them. This takes Naturya from niche superfood to the next level as an everyday lifestyle brand.

Naturya’s new design language captures abundance for all. It retains the brand’s bold existing colour palette, inspired by the vibrancy of nature, while adding illustrations that celebrate and hero the quality ingredients, creating a range of packs that buzz with life and possibility. The touch of gold to each pack through the heart symbol of the new brand mark adds a premium feel. The developed design system provides each pack with a unique identity and personality, within a range that feels holistic and navigable.

Now Naturya has what it needs to make healthier and tastier one and the same.

With health and wellness now part of everyday life for the active and engaged, the next step for the category is to democratise access to healthier options for those who would like to embrace well-being, but for who these choices don’t come so easy. This is about identifying and then addressing the barriers to making healthier choices.

Firstly, health claims can be confusing. In 2014, 61% of people in the UK purchased a food because it had been labelled a ‘superfood,’ without understanding what it was, or its benefit beyond other foods.

Second, the category can feel functional, scientific and reductive. Language and terminology does little to dispel the perception of a trade-off between ‘tastes good’ and ‘good for you.’ Most people just aren’t looking for ‘super-healthy.’ They want healthy food that doesn’t trade away taste.

After all, food choice is sensorially driven. There’s no need for compromise.

The leading healthier food brands are responding by breaking down the old barriers between ‘healthy’ and ‘tasty,’ staking their territory in being bountiful and expressive – full of delicious-looking stuff that just happens to be good for you.

James Withey is head of strategy at FutureBrand London