Tapping into “grab-and-go” sector: Asian snack brand Kelly Loves debuts in UK and Europe

11 Jul 2019 --- Asian food brand Kelly Loves will be launching its seaweed snacks in supermarkets across the UK and Europe, with a brand and packaging identity that “marries authenticity and accessibility” by London-based design and strategic consultancy Without. Kelly Loves was created by prominent Korean food entrepreneur Kelly Choi, Founder of Kelly Deli and Sushi Daily, in a bid to bring wholesome Asian food to Western supermarket shelves and tap into the booming “grab-and-go” sector.

Research by Without found that authenticity is the key ingredient for consumers buying and eating Asian food in this area of the world. The agency aimed to communicate flavors and design ideals of the East in an authentic yet approachable way to non-Asian markets through packaging and presentation. “The target customer is not a specific demographic, but a frame of mind – the brand is designed for people who are looking for something convenient and balanced, and at the same time want to discover interesting new flavours and ingredients from the East,” a representative of the brand tells PackagingInsights.

Associating ideas with imagery is a key feature of the Kelly Loves packaging. To achieve this, the Without design team looked to the traditional line drawings and cartoon styles of the East to create a fresh, authentic design language and tone of voice, with Kelly at the heart of the brand story.

The brand’s seaweed snack products feature an illustration of a little girl being lifted into the air on a seaweed-snack “balloons,” to convey the lightness of the product. “Likewise, when we see her walking along a chopstick ‘beam,’ we understand that the product is perfectly balanced,” notes the Without spokesperson. These images, when combined with on-pack drawings of the products or windows that reveal them, are intended to leave consumers with little doubt as to what they are buying.

The branding for Kelly Loves draws ample inspiration from Kelly’s personal life as a mother. “During the collaboration process, Kelly frequently mentioned that she would only sell what she was happy to feed her young daughter, so this became a central tenet of our approach,” explains the Without spokesperson. “We developed Asian-inspired line drawings of a mother and daughter interacting to bring the brand to life and provide cohesion across the range. The two characters allow us to demonstrate different product attributes – light, healthy, balanced, for example – in an engaging, friendly way.”

East meets West
The market for Asian snacks in Western markets is relatively young, but one that is growing year on year. “Attempts to seem authentic by most brands in this category often feel ‘dumbed down,’ falling back on stereotypes and clichés in order to signal origin, such as designs that feature pandas, bamboo and oriental calligraphy,” the spokesperson tells PackagingInsights. “Equally, genuine Eastern brands can often seem alien and intimidating. Striking a balance between the two worlds creates an authentic and accessible product for Western consumers who are looking for the real flavour of the East.”

Without hopes to entice consumers with a “category-changing” branding language that exists between the two worlds, allowing Western shoppers easy access to real Eastern flavours. The company identifies its approach as completely consumer-centric in its creation of a “universal yet original brand identity and language” appealing to a broad range of consumers, from “true foodies” to those experimenting with Eastern flavours for the first time.

“We source the highest-quality ingredients, and what we produce is 100 percent authentic. It was very important that our new off-the-shelf range was brought to market in a way that would be attractive to the modern Western palate, while staying true to its roots. We’d seen Without’s considerable body of work in the food and beverage sector and felt they were the perfect fit for us,” says Kelly Choi.

By Benjamin Ferrer