Furlani’s is going after time-starved consumers with oven-ready bakeable bags.

The Mississauga-based fresh and frozen garlic bread brand is launching a new assortment of soft dinner rolls, hand-tied knots and biscuits, with a front panel “bake in bag” value proposition usually associated with popcorn. The bake-in-a-bag cooking instruction is being prominently called out on pack, and there are coupons in-pack (see below), to drive trial from other products in the Furlani lineup.

Jackie Brenkel, Furlani’s Food Corp’s North American head of marketing, tells strategy that in-store is a key focus for the brand, and includes bunker programs, POS material for shelf placement and consumer promotions to drive trial and motivate repurchase. There are free-standing displays in market, with eye-catching header cards showing occasion and usage, and for consumers to take away recipe cards. 

“Bake in bag” is a completely exclusive packaging innovation to Furlani in Canada, she says. “What’s critical in terms of insight, is that consumers are really busy, even pre-COVID, juggling very busy lives, particularly consumers with children,” Brenkel says, and with “bake in bag,” there is no need for prep or mess associated with chopping up garlic. Recipe inspiration-serving ideas are also included on every pack.

Canadians love garlic bread products, across many formats. What Furlani wants to do, Brenkel says, is serve up a shortcut.

“We add value to bread, by value of the spread,” Brenkel notes, and that millennials have a penchant for flavour experimentation. She says the brand’s reflecting an ongoing desire for prepackaged food products that contain real ingredients, and the term “real” appears on pack as well. People want nutritious, indulgent treats, especially now, Brenkel says. 

When it comes to the competitive landscape, Brenkel says it comes from operating both in the fresh bakery aisle and frozen space, whereas competitors only sell in the latter.

The brand is also in market with a YouTube campaign that’s running for the foreseeable future, and banner advertising, full social media program done largely internally.

Packaging design was done by SJC Branding & Packaging Design, while The Hot Plate (a division of Tag) handled OLV production.