Bernard Matthews Cooked Meat

Sales plummeted by 36.7% to £110.6m taking the brand down the league table from its 22nd position last year to 51 in 2008.

Marketing director Matt Pullen pulls no punches: “Obviously it's been a very difficult year for the brand. Sales suffered in the wake of AI but they are showing goods signs of recovery.”

Brand recovery, if not resuscitation, was needed and fast, and it came in the shape of investment in national press, TV and radio advertising plus PR.

In addition, Bernard Matthews continued with a brand refresh programme, scheduled before the avian flu outbreak, but necessitated by it too.

This included product improvement and specifically lowering salt, the removal of all hydrogenated fats, artificial colours and flavours and removal of artificial preservatives where possible.

In addition, the company increased its range of products made with 100% turkey breast meat.

Packaging was refreshed too with the introduction of clearer on-pack labelling including combined GDA and FSA traffic light labelling; country of origin labelling, completed at the end of last year; and the Quality British Turkey/Assured Food Standards combined logo.

2007 also saw increased investment in the brand with a £2m spend on a Turkey for Today campaign, including TV and radio to highlight the versatility of Bernard Matthews' products; a £1m Turkey for the Big Day Christmas campaign, positioning golden Norfolk turkey at the heart of British Christmas; and a £5m prize fund for a Spiderman on-pack promotion plus experiential support.

Pullen says: “We believe we have addressed the issues that have been exposed and that we are developing the business in a way that will lead to the brand being seen in a positive light. Consumer confidence in the brand has been severely knocked and it's important that we re-establish our British credentials.”

2007 £110.6m
2006 £174.7m
yoy change -36.7%