Nestlé bunches five

Nestlé is expected to release its design roster tomorrow, drastically reducing its number of regular packaging suppliers from 26 to 5.

Consultancies believed to have been shortlisted are Brown Inc, Landor Associates, Coley Porter Bell, Associated Design Consultants and The Hill Watson Company.

Seven more design groups have pulled out of a pitch to design the first phase of the planned 15m National Centre for Popular Music, following the lead of Imagination, 20/20, WPA and Shelton Fleming last week (DW 26 April).

Carter Wong, Casson Mann, Creative Communications, Media Projects, The Team, Checkland Kindleysides and Themes, Heritage & Exhibitions all failed to hit last week’s proposal deadline.

Nine consultancies have returned the written proposals, and six more have indicated they plan to do so. The chosen consultancy will receive 50 000 for three months’ work overseeing stage one of the process.

“We saw the original list of 26 and decided not to participate, if we had been one of five it would have been different,” says Carter Wong director Phil Carter.

Tim Strickland, the centre’s director, hopes to interview consultancies next week. “I’m not disheartened. We hope to work further on down the line with the ones who decided not to proceed at this stage,” he says.