• by Nina Lentini , Staff Writer @Nina_Lentini, August 19, 2020

Who would have thought you could find namaste in the paper products aisle? But that's just what Wakefern Food Corp. did for its Shop Rite brand of grocery stores.

Laura Kind, vice president of brand strategy at Wakefern (inset above), ran through a case study at our Brand Insider Summit CPG on Wednesday that took attendees from beginning to end. Looking past "private labels," an archaic-sounding term, Wakefern sought to create a store brand that was a brand with a story. Starting from the architecture, it built out a portfolio that made sense to the consumer -- which, by the way, is def loyal to Shop Rite, especially in the Northeast.

In wanting to go from a single brand to "distinct brands that build credibility," they asked these consumers what they were looking for in a brand and what equity they saw in the Shop Rite banner.

Further insights indicated that decoupling the brand's core food offering from household offerings led to the name Paperbird. People found paper product aisles over-stimulating, full of high function, and loud. "How do you cut through that?" Kind said. "Insight showed you don't go louder, you strip it back to create a sense of calm and ease for the consumer."

She pointed out how the line drawing in the logo was meant to symbolize the flight pattern of a bird. Then, strategists pondered the truth about such boring items as paper towels: they are often used to clean up messes that aren't your own and that creates anxiety, leading to "the rage clean."

A 30-second video demonstrated angry people dealing with messes created by others (see above), then finding a sense of peace by using the product to clean. "We wanted to capture emotional tension in a category obsessed with functionality -- and then release it," said Kind.

"We were proud of how we were able to bring it to life through every channel and reinvention, from OOH, train stations like the Hoboken train station and the 30th Street station in Philly, as well as Penn Station in New York."

The company also used traditional and digital radio to launch a new meditative practice called "Bathroom Mirror," a :30 journey to inner peace.

Results since the launch last November show double-digit unit and dollar growth in key home products categories, a 46% lift in brand awareness, and a 68% lift in consideration (ahead of COVID).