The move was taken to adapt to changing market conditions and increasing competition on the Russian meat market, according to representatives from the company.
Russia’s largest meat producers often pay little attention to the design of their product packaging. As such, according to industry experts, Miratorg’s initiative could really benefit the company, as it is likely to attract potential new consumers. The new design features colour pictures of Miratorg’s products, post-cooking, on the front, with a short description of the product and its nutritional value.
Representatives from Miratorg said the company commissioned Russian design agency Rebrand to work on the project. It has created a leading slogan on all its ready-to-cook products, ‘Tasty, just like at home’, suggesting that the company is trying to position its products as organic. Various opinion polls indicate that Russian consumers are now ready to opt for safer and organic products, and are willing to extra pay for them.
Also, one important feature of Miratorg’s new packaging is that it will contain infographics, demonstrating the whole meat production process, "from farm to table". This, said the company’s management, would provide customers with transparency about its technology.
The rebranding program has also been extended to Miratorg’s retail division. The company hired Dutch design agency Jos de Vries "to rebrand existing supermarkets, creating shop-in-shop zones", said the Miratorg representatives. Rebranding its retail chain is expected to result in the company abandoning the supermarket format in favour of a smaller butchery format, based on its experience of similar projects in the European market.
"We once promised a lot of things with our retail network, and this was the only case where we have not fulfilled our promises. So now we are running ‘pilot’ projects. We will look at the results and, in the middle of next year, we will make a decision on the further development of our retail network," said Miratorg president Viktor Linnik.
"The ‘butcheries’ will focus on the sale of a full range of chilled beef, pork and poultry," he added.
The company claimed it has not used this format before, as it did not have its own full range of the main meat product types. However, Miratorg has recently added to its range with high-quality beef products, following the launch of its beef project in the country’s Bryansk Oblast.