New kid on the block - a clean, green brand for a freshly-converted organics producer

Converting a large-scale, mainstream food growing/processing operation to organics requires re-thinking from the ground up … literally. When third-generation growers Keilor Valley Gardens embarked on this big challenge they needed a new brand with a strong identity and loads of personality to drive their products into the national market. LadyBird Organics was born.

DDG was engaged to help establish and manage the Ladybird Organics brand. From the beginning, it was clear that this would be a watershed Australian brand marking the maturation of organic farming from the small hobby farmer into the full-scale commercial operator.

Organics is now the world’s fastest-growing food sector, having made the transition from hippiedom to mainstream. It is a real-world marketplace where big retailers and well-informed consumers compete for the best deals and the best products.

So how does a new brand cut-through? The DDG design team responded to the brief by creating a stand-out visual identity that communicates the key values of organic food – health, environment, flavour. The new Ladybird Organics logo features a fun ladybird motif with crisp lines and bright colours – easily identified, recalled and reproduced. Its contemporary, uncluttered style mirrors the simplicity of natural farming.

DDG worked with Ladybird Organics to develop a positioning statement to add strength to marketing communications. “Crawling with natural goodness” delivers personality and interest whilst reinforcing the product values.

Ladybird Organics specialise in salad leaf products which reach the market through several avenues – large retail chains, smaller retailers, wholesale markets and food service. Ranges are available in shelf-ready pre-packaged units or larger boxes for bulk buyers. Whether box or bag, the packaging is environmentally friendly – produced using a fully bio-degradable, corn-based product. DDG has developed a range of carton and bag designs with high shelf impact, to define and connect the individual products to the parent brand. Green is the predominant colour, again boosting the environmental and natural values.

A fresh DDG-developed website has given Ladybird Organics a powerful online presence. It’s a space to showcase products, outline philosophy, connect to consumers, list wholesalers and retailers, and make announcements. Using DDG’s feature-packed WebCommand platform, the website marries technical functionality with design excellence. The style is true to the clean, green lines of the Ladybird Organics identity – simple navigation, feel-good images and uncomplicated text. Through a clever layering hierarchy, visitors can readily access their target or browse at their leisure. Check it out at: www.ladybirdorganics.com.au

With any branding exercise, equity is developed by repeating the branding across all collateral. Ladybird Organics is no different. DDG has driven this process by developing a range of business and promotional materials to fortify the brand, build awareness and capture the interest of potential customers. Brochures, press releases and exhibition displays, amongst others.

Ladybird Organics has leveraged from the strength of its legacy brand, Keilor Valley Gardens – its nation-wide distribution network, existing supply chains and numerous industry contacts. Now, thanks to the owners’ commitment to developing a powerful brand, Ladybird Organics has its own legs – its chemical-free, environmentally-friendly products are distributed nation-wide via a new supply chain built on the principles of sustainability. Look for the ladybird and you will find the products on the shelves at Coles, IGA and Foodworks, and a long list of independent retailers and wholesalers. And you may well be eating Ladybird Organics salads at your local restaurant.

At the recent 2007 Organic Expo held in Melbourne, the Ladybird Organics team strutted their stuff along with 200 other exhibitors. Two years into the three-year rigorous organics conversion phase, the hard work is already paying off with Ladybird Organics cleaning up at the expo awards, judged across several criteria including packaging and branding effectiveness. Their Pre-pack Salad Mix won two gold awards - Best Organic Food Product and Best Organic Product. And the overall Judges’ Choice Award? To Ladybird Organics, of course … not bad for the new kid on the block.