Branding agency Principals has helped Costa Group consolidate its mushroom range from three brands to one with the launch of Mush-Boom.
Costa Group is Australia’s largest horticultural company and a major supplier of produce to food retailers in the country. Until recently, the business had three different local and international mushroom brands in-market. Costa Group engaged Principals to consolidate these brands.
The team worked with Costa to craft a strategy that gives mushrooms the status they deserve and highlights the unexpected health benefits of the humble mushroom.
With the help of Principals’ language arm XXVI, the first step was nailing down a unique name and personality that could stand out and command attention in an otherwise brandless corner of the supermarket. From there, Principals focused on bringing the heroic nature of the brand to life through visual identity, custom packaging and point-of-sale collateral including characters that turn mushrooms into superheroes.
Principals Creative Director Pip Ireland said: “Our aim was to bring the ‘Boom’ to mushrooms by creating a brand – and a name – full of personality. This was achieved by showcasing the mushroom’s diversity of use and flavour. The brand needed to appeal to both young and old, with research and insights helping to inform the bold new positioning.”
The new name – Mush-Boom – as well as the tagline, “Rescue your meals from boring”, comes to life through a user-friendly website with recipes and nutrition information.
Costa Marketing and Innovation Manager Elisa Siliato said: “More and more consumers are seeking to reduce or replace meat in their diets and mushrooms are a terrific alternative, yet, traditionally, they have flown under the radar with the category largely unbranded.
“Mush-Boom is an exciting departure from the status quo highlighting the fact that mushrooms are fun, quirky and full of goodness. Principals has introduced a personality that appeals to customers and will inspire them to get cooking.”
