By Kerryn Le Cordeur
NIK NAKS revealed its new packaging, as well as a new flavour, as chosen by ‘the people of Mzansi’, at 44 Stanley’s Roof Top on Friday, 22 October. The bright sunny weather was in keeping with the equally bright décor matching the brand’s funky youth feel, while the Clinch Dance Crew kept guests entertained in true NIK NAKS style.
The ‘Taste the NAK, restyle our pack’ campaign was conceived seven months ago with a view to maintain the NIK NAKS brand’s positioning in the market by speaking to the same youth audience but from a fresher perspective to remain relevant. As such, NIK NAKS wanted this market to be involved in its rebranding process and it therefore asked the public to send in images of what inspired them. Of the thousands of images received, the top five were chosen, and these formed the basis of the new packaging. From here, the restyling process was handed over to three designers, Johnny Kotze, Emma Cook and Mzwandile Buthelezi, who created three versions of the pack, with over 30 000 public votes making the final decision.
NIK NAKS Brand Manager, Roma Ramkhelawan, explained that with the changing nature of the marketing environment, consumers have also changed to become much more dynamic and demanding, and for a brand to be iconic, it needs to relate to its target audience in a relevant and fundamental way so that it becomes ingrained in their lifestyle. She added that there was a definite need for the NIK NAKS brand to be refreshed and revamped and the team felt the only way to do so would be to engage interactively and keep up a continuous dialogue with consumers at all key touch points and platforms, such as social media, commuter hotspots and popular ‘hang outs’. She emphasised that it was important to reassure consumers that it would only be the packaging and aesthetic of the brand that was changing, however, and that they could be assured that the taste they love would remain the same.
Musa Kalenga, MD of Monatefellaz, agreed that this was important, as there are two things to keep in mind when considering consumers – relevance and the need to connect. He explained that NIK NAKS is a brand we have all grown up with and the taste can trigger various memories for us, so it’s important not to alter this. In terms of connecting, he said that looking at the youth market in particular, it is dynamic and unique so it is necessary to tap into this and think about the specific needs of the market when considering the look and feel of your brand. Most importantly, he stated that “you can’t put out a campaign saying you’re cool; people need to tell you what’s cool,” and you need to listen and give them what they want so that they spread the word.
With all the formalities out the way, the new look was revealed, sticking to the easily recognisable yellow and pink for the original cheese flavour, yellow and green for fruit chutney and yellow and red for the newly launched spicy tomato flavour, but with a trendy new design courtesy of Graffiti artist, Mzwandile Buthelezi.
Guests were then entertained by Crazy White Boy as they sampled the chips, while spectators below were excited to be part of the action as the first to catch a glimpse of the new packaging when a few samples were thrown down to them.
For those who haven’t yet seen the new NIK NAKS packaging or tried the spicy tomato flavour, it is now available countrywide.