Nairn’s has joined forces with Marmite to launch a new Marmite & Cheese flavour oatcakes as a permanent addition to the Nairn’s range.
The new flavour looks to build on the success of Nairn’s Cheese Oatcakes, the brand’s best-selling oatcake through this Imaginative pairings of iconic brands. The collaboration also aims to increase the household penetration of oatcakes and attract younger consumers to the category.
Melissa Wimble, Licensing Manager at Unilever, said: “Our first collaboration with Nairn’s is set to grow the Marmite consumer base by tapping into new occasions associated with the oatcake category, such as snacking. This evolution of Nairn’s leading Cheese Oatcake SKU is also well positioned to introduce Marmite to the oatcake consumer and grow brand penetration.”
Nairn’s Brand Manager, Euan Lutton, added: “Our customers have long been telling us about their go-to flavour combinations and toppings for their oatcakes, and Marmite and cheese are firm favourites. We are delighted to bring customers exactly what they want, and to see two classic brands that complement each other so perfectly, joining forces.”
Nairn’s commitment to innovation also has led to the introduction of a new 24-case format for its Pop Oats range, which is claimed to be the first ever gluten-free popped oat snack. HFSS and school-compliant, the products have 60% less fat than regular fried crisps and only 83 calories per pack. The new case format also demonstrates how brand can work alongside retailers to offer more cost-effective products for consumers.
Ken Cameron, National Account Controller at Nairn’s, commented: “Increasing prices due to the cost-of-living crisis has hit many small retail businesses hard. At Nairn’s, we are working hard to find innovative solutions that can allow saving on costs and therefore avoid price increases. The new bigger case of Pop Oats now includes 24 packs, a size that now allows the packing of the case automated and therefore saving on cost, preventing an increase in price per unit.”
Brand partnerships are never as straightforward as they might seem. It is a delicate exercise in working out where the added value is and why might a consumer be enticed. History is littered with examples of success and failure, and of companies (no names, no pack drill) that have allowed their precious brand onto just about everything and anything. Counterbalancing this are those who miss genuinely brand-enhancing opportunities through a purest approach. Nairn’s and Marmite might be onto something. First it is very on-brand for both parties. For Marmite, the concept fits easily into the ‘love it or hate it’ universe. Unilever seems consistently to find great partnerships for Marmite. For Nairn’s, it fits the idea that an oatcake is a little bit different and distinctive from an everyday ‘cracker’! Small point, the addition of the cheese adds a layer of product intrigue, complexity and added value, building on existing NPD. This is based on insight and real product usage, they claim. Whilst other products are available, we will be trying them…