A pioneer in the puff category, Funflips, recently acquired by the JK Group of Companies, undergoes brand revamp in collaboration with Almond Branding, a leading branding and design agency, to create a strong brand identity and positioning in the Indian packaged savoury snacks category.

Through this rebranding exercise the brand aims to synergise the portfolio with the modern-day consumer, so that the brand mirrors their current mindset, expectations and lifestyle. JK Group Snacks division has its key markets in Northern India with consumption in 310 cities in the Northern region. However, with the brand revamp, it plans to penetrate deeper into newer markets and expand its presence in the country.

With the help of Almond Branding, the brand has reworked its logo identity and the overall design language for its products by creating a world of Funflips snacks range that is unique, proprietary and connotes the distinct world of Fun with snacking. The new design brings to life the world of fun and the indulgence one seeks from taste perspective.

Almond Branding strategically devised a modern, unique design architecture which straddles across the 3 product categories (puffs/chips/stix) acting as a unifier for the portfolio while different enough to highlight the category. The team at Almond did extensive market visits in Delhi and neighbouring areas to clearly map the market scenario and draw category insights. Fun as an experience was decoded, and out of the underlying emotion of joy, delight and excitement, it derived the inspiration for a visual hook that can tie the entire range together – the exclamation mark.

Each category was developed carefully with apt choice of bright colors to stand out in the clutter while following the category codes and the intricate food styling of the ingredient story to depict the flavor variants. The random dynamism of the product on the pack captured the element of fun as opposed to the category tradition of a static composed shot at the bottom of pack.

Commenting on the revamp, Natarajan MV, business head, JK Foods said, “JK Group acquired the nearly 35-year old brand Funflips because it has a strong equity and connect with consumers, however in order to realize the brand growth potential the packaging has to resonate with consumers of today. In an impulse category like salty snacks, packaging plays a vital role of communicating and influencing purchase decision at point of sale. Thus, the readiness to take on snacking giants and to become a significant player in the category had to start with the pack itself”.

Rishabh Verma, head of marketing, JK Foods, added “The new packaging design not only sets a high benchmark in terms of creativity but also successfully creates a new packaging language that lets the brand own a proprietorially differentiated territory especially among leading players in the market. Also with the new design, the brand has made a successful upward extension in Rs. 20 price point, which has added a new dimension to our snack business.”

Archit Goel, brand manager, Funflips said, “Apart from the creating a modern and clutter breaking packaging, the biggest challenge was to stitch a common visual language across our offerings in chips, puffs and stix categories, to bring a uniform visual architecture. Almond Branding strategically translated the brand core in to the visual cues and design language, that has helped in creating an impactful design which is unique and has a clutter breaking visual identity.”

Shashwat Das, founder and director, Almond Branding said, “The task was to upgrade the brand imagery in a way that the consumers not only fall in love with the new revamped brand identity and packaging but also embrace the brand at higher price points as well. In a highly cluttered market, it was critical to chart out a clear Brand Strategy and identify the unique space of where to play and how to win. We deep dived into consumer perceptions about the snacking category, drew insights and brought them to life in the form of design for Funflips.”