Princes UK has invested £2m into a marketing overhaul for Napolina in a bid to tackle declining sales.
The international food and drink group unveiled plans for a “bolder and brasher brand personality” for Napolina, reflected in new “creative pack designs and formats with an unmistakably Italian spirit.”
The marketing push will involve a new range of chilled, filled pasta, which will launch under the brand in early 2023 and aims to highlight the quality of Napolina’s product range.
It comes after the Italian pasta brand saw value sales of its pasta lines tumble 15.5% to £21.1m in the 52 weeks to 27 September 2022, according to NielsenIQ data, with sales of its Italian sauces plunging 40.8% to £1.3m.
The campaign was inspired by the “common misconception” that ingredients such as chopped tomatoes, olive oil and pasta were merely “the support acts in home-cooked Italian meals”, said Princes.
It would “support Napolina’s ambitious growth plans within the UK Italian category, by creating a distinctive tone of voice that will resonate with new and existing shoppers across the category and drive brand cut-through”, the FMCG giant said.
Princes Group brand marketing director, Jeremy Gibson, said: “With economic pressure seeing people cutting back on eating out, consumers are looking for high-quality food when they eat in. So, this is no time to be humble about the quality of our products.”
Gibson added that the campaign would give Napolina “a distinctive brand message that will enable us to stand out from the rest of the sector.”
