The recent discovery of blackened breadcrumbs during an archaeological dig in northern Jordan revealed that humans have been baking bread for 14,400 years. The methods in which the foodstuff of our ancestors is made (and marketed) has been changing ever since.

Some of that change can be seen in Bimbo Canada’s Bon Matin, a pioneer brand in the healthy bread segment, as well as its sister brand Boulange des Campagnards. The CPG co. recently worked with Montreal marketing agency BrandBourg, as well as its AOR Cundari, Sklar Wilton and Ad hoc research to reassess both brand identities and positioning in the highly competitive category.

Tania Goecke, senior director marketing at Bimbo Canada, says Bon Matin was the first brand to bring sliced whole grain bread to the Quebec consumer back in the ’70s, but that its brand equity had deteriorated (as a result of a lack of marketing support and product innovation) to the point where it was thought of as “grandma’s brand.”

Meanwhile, Boulange des Campagnards was suffering from unclear messaging and a low market share. Goecke says Boulange had gotten lost on shelf due to the success of competitor Boulangerie St. Methode, a decades-old stalwart of the Quebec marketplace that had long touted its own artisanal nutrient-rich attributes.

The decision was made to develop new branding that spoke to both brands’ focus on health, as well as to rename Boulange des Campagnards to be more clearly labelled as a sub-brand of the Bon Matin family.

First, The Bon Matin sun and rooster were simplified into a more bichromatic silhouette to differentiate from competitors like Weston, which also uses a sun as the logo for its Country Harvest bread. Second, Grupo Bimbo emphasized Bon Matin’s health aspects on its packaging, with a call out to its fibre content and grains. And third, Boulange des Campagnards’ name was changed to La mie de l’artisan by Bon Matin, helping to transfer credibility and affinity from the more established Bon Matin to its younger sister Boulange (before and after pictured left).

Goecke says the name and brand change was a “hard switch,” and in the month leading up, the brand created danglers and shelf strips that said, “Coming soon, Bon Matin/La Mie.” It also ran email blasts through Sobey’s and Metro notifying customers of the change and sharing a coupon for future purchases.

“Innovation and packaging refreshes allow brands to always be current in the marketplace, especially fast-moving products like bread,” says Christian Pichette, senior partner and president of BrandBourg. “It is important for brands to change their packaging to make sure they are still aligned to market codes being created.”

Pichette believes packaging should be refreshed every three to four years, while Goecke says packaging is a bread brand’s number one asset and that the bag has to have “stopping power, holding power and closing power at shelf.”