Rice supplier Veetee to market own brand

Veetee, a major own-label rice supplier, is repositioning as a consumer brand ahead of launching into the mainstream food market with a raft of new products later this year.

The brand has appointed marketing services agency The Clinton Partnership to develop the new strategy. It will include a new corporate identity, which will use the line Discovering Great Tates, as well as consumer advertising work.

Veetee has an annual turnover of &£30m, but has previously concentrated on supplying the own label products to the major supermarkets and ethnic retailers. It is keen to use its experience to market its own brand.

It has yet to reveal details of its new product plans but it is understood that they will be convenience products which will be tailored “to meet the increasing lifestyle demands of contemporary consumers”.

The brand has not used TV since 2001, when it launched a trade campaign using ethnic media including Zee TV and Asia Net.

The campaign used the strapline “The Rice of Life” and supported a number of innovations, such as new products and new packaging initiatives. WFCA Integrated created the campaign.

Veetee chief executive Vikas Magoon says: “This is an exciting time for Veetee, we are thrilled with our new brand image and eagerly anticipating the new developments planned for the coming year.”