Before ‘Good Food Deserves Lurpak’, there was Douglas

With the rise in lower quality spreads on the market, at a lower price point, Lurpak needed to reestablish themselves as the premium option. The taste was the crucial credential, and their existing approach wasn’t communicating it. 

For years, Lurpak’s communications relied on ‘Douglas’, a trombone-blowing butter-made character. Throughout his years of service, Douglas became a distinctive brand asset across the UK, with a solid fan-base. Yet in the early noughties with the rise of cheaper spreads, Lurpak’s market share was declining, and penetration was dropping, fast. The brand was struggling to justify its price premium margarines and private label offerings.

Becoming champions of good food

In 2007, Wieden+Kennedy was appointed to help kickstart brand growth. The role of communications was to inject value into the brand and convince people to choose Lurpak over its less-expensive competitors.

Our strategy was built on inspiring people to feel the product tasted better because Lurpak knew, understood, respected and cared about food in a way no other butter brand ever had. We called ourselves the champion of good food - a role that meant we would defend cooking whenever it was threatened - be that from Friday night apathy or the ping of a microwave.

Taking good food to the masses

Lurpak initially cemented this platform by celebrating the simplicity of simple good food.

From there we continued to celebrate and defend cooking. Against recessions, hangovers, or workdays.

Going global

Be it the magical crack of a baked meringue, the cavernous mystery of a pumpkin, or fighting the post-work ready meal with the line ‘think: what would the French do?!”: in the UK Lurpak scaled the world of food and planted a block of butter at its peak.

We then took the campaign global with ‘Weave your magic’.

Weave your magic has been so successful for the brand that it continues to run in some markets globally.

Never resting on our insights

Lurpak has always sought to update its relevance to the cultural context. So when social media started to become the hub for food content, Lurpak chose to remind cooks that a picture is no substitute for the thrill of the kitchen.

And when lockdown forced us indoors, Lurpak found new meaning in celebrating the good in cooking good food. From how soup cures colds to how a fritata can settle feuds. We told the world ‘where there are cooks, there is hope’ at a time where we needed hope the most.

Results

Lurpak has been a massive success story for Arla. Lurpak grew in volume and value to eventually topple Flora, reaching ‘iconic’ brand status in several markets in the process.

Following ‘where there are cooks’, Lurpak had its best year ever in terms of value sales.

Lurpak continues to be a loved product with growth worldwide.

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