pladis celebrates heritage of Carr’s brand with new investment

Global snacking company pladis is spotlighting the baking heritage of its established Carr’s brand with a £1m contemporary redesign and market relaunch that will debut a fresh new look for the first time in nearly a decade.

Aimed at inspiring shoppers to tuck into Carr’s range of premium crackers during snacking occasions which extend beyond the traditional cheeseboard, the brand’s refreshed packaging features artisanal foodie cues – complete with ‘why not try…’ serving suggestions curated by pladis’ lead chef, Mark Schomberg.

The revised packaging also points to Carr’s longstanding heritage with a brand-new logo that establishes “Carlisle”, “Cumbria”, “1831” – its founding date and location – into its iconography. With this, pladis aims to attract more discerning food lovers nationwide – driving household penetration and helping retailers increase sales among shoppers looking for new ways to enjoy savoury biscuits.

“Carr’s’ baking heritage spans 190 years, so we like to think we know a thing or two about savoury snacks,” says Alex Payne, marketing brand manager – Carr’s, pladis UK&I. “We pride ourselves on the quality, flavour and signature texture of our products, along with the unique heritage story of JD Carr; with the redesign taking inspiration from the same founding values and craft, which still inspire our products today.

“It’s these baking, innovation and culinary values that shape our products – so we’ve made these USPs a real focus as we relaunch Carr’s to the UK market.

“With even more opportunities to get creative in the kitchen – whether we’re lunching ‘al desko’ or getting back together with friends and family in our homes and gardens – we want to inspire consumers both familiar and new, to broaden their palates, try something different, and increase brand awareness along the way, helping our retail customers drive cross-category sales in the process.

“That’s why, alongside our new on-pack serving suggestions – we’ve partnered with popular Michelin-starred TV chef, Tom Kerridge, to create a series of online recipes. Having now launched across Instagram (@carrs_uk), the recipes – under the name Carr’s Creations – will help guide our followers to discover exciting new flavour experiences.

“This will reinforce the brand’s associations with high quality, artisanal food, all-the-while helping us on our mission to become the leader in premium, savoury snacking. This all means it’s the perfect time for retailers to take another look at their savoury snacking fixtures and stock-up on Carr’s.”

Carr’s refreshed look comes alongside a range revision which puts premium ingredients and recipes at the heart of the brand. This includes the launch of new Carr’s Black Olive Melts, plus the addition of Crispbreads, Flatbreads and Ciabatta.

Carr’s Black Olive Melts are deliciously-crisp wheaten biscuits, embodying Carr’s signature mouth-watering light, melting texture. The Carr’s Melts range – which also includes Original and Cheese flavours – has grown +20% since 2019 and now worth £4.5m.

Also available in a range of classic flavours is Carr’s crunchy Crispbreads, versatile Flatbreads and Italian-inspired Ciabatta – all baked with subtle flavours designed to complement a vast range of dips and toppings.

“At a time when consumers are turning to trusted, heritage brands for products which they can be confident deliver on quality and taste, our bestselling Carr’s Melts are proving more popular than ever,” continues Payne. “In fact, with Brits spending more evenings indoors indulging in premium, savoury snacks over the past year, Carr’s Melts have fast become our bestselling SKU.”

The new packaging – along with Carr’s Black Olive Melts (150g pack size, RRP: £1.49) – is available on-shelf now at all major grocery retailers, as well as in convenience and wholesale. Packaging will be recyclable through pladis’ partnership with Terracycle (www.terracycle.co.uk).

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