Steps to change its category?

A new Fox’s masterbrand, consistent packaging design, and increased attention to convenience outlets, are already illustrating the changes on the biscuit brand. But MD Colin Smith says equally important is investment in plant, machinery and training intended to help build a culture of flexibility and innovation at the company.
A new Fox’s masterbrand, consistent packaging design, and increased attention to convenience outlets, are already illustrating the changes on the biscuit brand. But MD Colin Smith says equally important is investment in plant, machinery and training intended to help build a culture of flexibility and innovation at the company.

AS covered in last month’s Scottish Grocer biscuits and cakes feature, a new outlook at biscuit manufacturer Fox’s has already seen the development of an umbrella Fox’s brand and the launch of a £10m marketing campaign complete with TV and social media activity plus in-store activity and a new push in the convenience channel featuring a new-look PMP range.
But Fox’s MD Colin Smith was also very keen to tell Scottish Grocer that still more cash is being invested in manufacturing and business fundamentals designed to make the company a UK biscuit leader for the long term.
“We’ll be investing £20m on the infrastructure of the business,” he said.
“We’re addressing things behind the scenes to give us the capacity and the flexibility to address future consumer needs.
“We’ve developed over the course of 15 months a three-year innovation pipeline.
“We know exactly where we are going. We’ll have some fantastically exciting products that will step-change the category, stuff that people aren’t doing.
“We’re investing in more modern equipment to give us the flexibility to make different pack formats. There’s investment in efficiency to give us more capacity. There’s investment in machinery to enable us to make innovative products that aren’t in the market yet.”
Meal-deal-friendly packs and packs of individually wrapped single-serve sizes are among the opportunities that Smith is keen to address.

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“Our competitors have done a very good job in that area and we’ve been a bit slow on that. The investment will give us the chance to look more at foodservice, convenience channel, cash & carry packs – flexibility by channel really.”
While the firm plans to widen its range of pack styles and routes to market it is significantly consolidating its marketing messages. Fox’s becomes a brand name to promote, covering a tight range of priority lines or “hero brands” as the firm calls them – Fox’s Crunch, Chunkie Cookies, Rocky, Viennese, and Party Rings.
“We have one very clear, high-quality, delicious, generous brand and the five hero brands underneath that,” Smith stressed.

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