W&R dishes up Baxters soup range

Wren & Rowe has created a category-stretching soup range for Scottish food group Baxters, designed to help the company tilt at the ready-meals market and younger consumers.

Baxters Big & Chunky is a microwaveable ‘meal in a bowl’, says Wren & Rowe managing director Paul Foulkes-Arellano, which ‘straddles soup and ready meals offers’.

The food is presented in a terracotta-style plastic container and can be eaten directly from the bowl. The packaging is photographically led, with strong and simple images of the product’s fresh ingredients.

According to Wren & Rowe creative director Michael Rowe, the design conveys the impression ‘these chunky soups are hearty and wholesome, just like you would make at home’.

Three varieties have been created so far – Chilli Beef Meatballs with Tomato, Three Bean & Vegetable and Tomato, Mushroom & Pasta – with more in the pipeline.

In a separate, but related move, Baxters has acquired the Weightwatchers ready-meals brand and a redesign of this range is expected in the new year.

The company has been in expansive mood in recent months, opening its first lifestyle store in Edinburgh’s Ocean Terminal shopping mall. In September, it also revamped packaging on its main soup range, created by Tomorrow.

Baxters’ products have traditionally appealed to older consumers, but its strategy is now to win a younger audience by updating the brand’s premium feel and moving into new areas.