Heinz hands jkr John West revamp brief

Heinz has appointed a design agency to handle the rebranding of its John West foods across Europe, as it continues the process of globalising its food categories.

The appointment of packaging specialist jones knowles ritchie has prompted speculation that the company is preparing a more unified image for its seafood brand across different markets.

The appointment follows Heinz’ decision to seek an advertising agency for its consolidated global sauces, pasta and beans account, worth an estimated 50m.

The company has been globalising its other eight food categories in an effort to emulate the global status of Coke and McDonald’s.

Industry observers believe the only category in which Heinz has an effective global proposition is Ketchup. Packaging for the sauce is similar in all markets.

In the seafood category, Heinz operates under at least six company names in different markets – John West in the UK, Petit Navire, StarKist, Greenseas, Wattie’s and Mareblu.

The same structure is reflected in the other categories: food service, weight control, infant feeding, convenience meals, frozen foods, petfood, and sauces.

A spokesman for Heinz says: “I can confirm we have appointed jkr for the John West account. However, I do not want to give details on the scale or scope of the work the agency will do.”