Shelf Review: Duchy Originals

The range includes biscuits, seeds, preserves, desserts, drinks, condiments, soups and bodycare products. The new biscuit ranges will be the first to include the new packaging and these include flavours such as Organic Hazelnut & Cranberry and Organic Sweet Oaten & Heather Honey.

The new packaging is the first redesign since the Prince of Wales created the firm and will be rolled out to all Duchy Originals ranges by the end of the year.

Graphics 8/10
The old (and for many products, existing) packaging is strong in itself, but the new packs, which feature an image depicting a wood etching of the Duchy Home Farm, reinforces the firm’s origins and philosophy. The new packaging also gives greater prominence to the ingredients and provenance of the products.

This is not a radical repackaging but an updating that keeps the Duchy ‘look’ very recognisable. The colours are darker and the black column and gold branding on the front of the packaging gives it an even stronger quality association. One quibble is that some might say the new design does bear some similarity to Green & Blacks chocolate.

The Duchy ‘Good Food’ charter on the reverse is an effective way to reinforce the natural ingredients of the products.

Function 8/10
The function has not changed from that of the previous pack. It is easy to open from the top and the biscuits are kept in two separate plastic wrappers to keep them fresh.

On-shelf 8/10
Although the packaging is now darker this does not lessen the shelf presence of the products, and it succeeds in making the biscuits different from their competitors. They are, however, still very recognisable and anyone familiar with Duchy can easily identify them. 

Overall 8/10
This is an effective makeover, retaining the essential Duchy look but enhancing the core values of the brand and enhancing their points of difference.

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