BRANDPACKAGING says: Design Bridge knew to keep syrup and sauce brand Lyle's equities, massively important when updating an iconic brand's packaging. The redesign does what a good redesign should: refresh a brand's look to bring excitement to it, all while keeping current customers and attracting new ones.
Independent brand design agency Design Bridge announces details of its work creating a limited-edition summertime tin for Lyle's Black Treacle. The new tin design uses clever twists on Lyle’s iconic branding and imaginative new copywriting to tempt consumers into using black treacle as part of their favorite savory barbecue marinades and sauces this summer.
Rachel Gotts, client director at Design Bridge, comments, “Lyle’s is a treasured brand, but we felt there was a great opportunity to broaden the usage of its Black Treacle beyond traditional and seasonal baking recipes, and make it a savory, summertime staple. We developed the idea of ‘Lyle’s Sticky Summer BBQ’ to appeal to a wider audience, including more male consumers, and designed a special, limited-edition tin to help guide people towards the new ways of using the treacle.”
Launched in 1950, Lyle’s Black Treacle inherited the branding and packaging of its older, sister product, Lyle’s Golden Syrup, which holds the Guinness World Record for the world’s oldest unchanged brand packaging. Understanding that Lyle’s design heritage is one of its strongest assets, Design Bridge have put playful and surprising twists on the iconic branding to create the packaging.
Mike Stride, creative director at Design Bridge explains, “We’ve worked on limited-edition packaging designs for Lyle’s in the past and have developed an architecture that allows us to explore new facets of the brand while staying true to its history. This time we’ve pushed it a little bit further by tilting the famous arch bearing the Lyle’s word mark at an angle to create a barbecue lid with sizzling flames inside. Elsewhere, we’ve redrawn Lyle’s traditional filigree patterns to incorporate further flame details, which also appear as decorative elements on the back of the tin.”
The combination of flame illustrations, bold use of black and swirls of barbecue smoke crafted from the filigree pattern suggest a smoky, tangy BBQ taste. This is brought to life in full by Design Bridge’s copywriting on the back of the tin. Friendly and conversational in tone, the new copy gives suggestions on how to use the treacle in favorite barbecue recipes; "Drizzle on pork ribs, subtly sweeten chicken marinades.” The new language also evokes the tastes, smells and atmosphere of summertime barbecues; "Savor the summer and get barbecuing with Lyle’s Black Treacle, a sticky delight to guarantee the most lip-smacking of summers.”
Sara Harrison, European product & licensing manager for Lyle’s Golden Syrup, comments, “We’re delighted with Design Bridge’s bold and playful design for the Lyle’s Sticky Summer BBQ limited-edition tin. The fun design addresses the brief to communicate usage and help educate on new ways for consumers to enjoy Lyle’s Black Treacle. We’re excited to see where this will take the product next."
Design Bridge have created a number of limited edition tins for Lyle’s products over the last five years, including ‘Trick or Treacle’ Lyle’s Black Treacle for Halloween in 2013, and ‘Happy and Glorious’ Lyle’s Golden Syrup for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012, which won a DBA Design Effectiveness Award.
