#MarketingExcellenceAwards SG 2021 highlight: Jumbo Group cooks up success with Love, Afare

The COVID-19 pandemic dealt massive blows to Singapore’s F&B industry. More than 529 F&B establishments had to shut down or experienced a significant drop in revenue as a result of the Circuit Breaker and subsequent safety measures. Jumbo Group, with operations in 15 cities, was not spared. During the 2020 financial year, Jumbo saw the biggest dip in revenue in Singapore, its home market. Jumbo needed to relook its business model to sustain revenue levels or succumb to the pandemic as well.

Working with Adwright and a budget of SG$120,000, Jumbo launched a campaign to reveal Jumbo’s new FMCG product brand, Love, Afare. The campaign impressed the judges, winning the silver award for Excellence in Response to COVID-19 at MARKETING-INTERACTIVE’s Marketing Excellence Awards 2021.

Challenge

Like all F&B establishments, Jumbo had to constantly pivot and scramble to keep up with the government’s latest safety measures. With social distancing measures, lockdowns and travel bans, Jumbo could no longer generate revenue from tourists or corporate gatherings as they did pre-pandemic. Jumbo needed a new target audience and product offerings to ensure its survival. 

Singapore’s ever-changing dine-in restrictions and reduced footfall in Jumbo’s eateries also made it challenging for Jumbo Group to stay at the top of consumers’ minds, especially when the Circuit Breaker spurred the rapid growth of novelty, home based food businesses. 

While Jumbo restaurants were already selling high quality, pre-packaged sauces, they were only distributed at the restaurant premises and there was no cross-selling of brands across the different eateries. This meant that sales were limited and could not reach a wider audience.

Strategy

Jumbo realised that the pandemic had led to the rise of online shopping and the frequency of homecooked meals. Aspiring home chefs and food enthusiasts would also constantly post their creations on social networking platforms. Jumbo saw the opportunity to enter the FMCG market with cooking enthusiasts as the new target audience. Working with Adwright and a budget of SG$120,000, Jumbo launched a campaign to reveal Jumbo’s new FMCG product brand, Love, Afare. 

Under Love, Afare, consumers will be able to purchase signature sauces, snacks and ingredients that would allow them to recreate the culinary experiences they enjoyed at Jumbo’s establishments, from the comforts of their own homes.

Execution

Creation of brand logo

The brand logo was created to aspire a community that loves life, food and sharing experiences. The elements are boldly reflected in the logo through the Chinese characters. The logo also incorporates a bowl and cutleries to depict the wide variety of delicacies Jumbo is known for, as well as a camera to symbolise the flavourful memories of Jumbo delicacies and the joy of sharing good food with others. 

3. Creation of new icon elements

To unify Jumbo’s top brands and house them under Love, Afare, new, stylised logo elements were created to act as a seal of assurance and authenticity on products under the new brand. The new logos were based on their original logos, bringing both familiarity and excitement to consumers. 

4. Digital launch of Love, Afare

Leveraging on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, consumers were directed to demolish an existing eCommerce site to unveil the new brand. The highly interactive webpage for Love, Afare unveiled pixels when clicked on for 50 hours until the new brand is fully unveiled. Every customer who participated in the exciting reveal walked away with vouchers and promo codes for their Love, Afare purchases. Media kits were also created to engage key opinion leaders for coverage during the launch. 

Results

The campaign was a success, garnering a reach of more than 60,000 users on social media platforms and drove more than 1,200 users to Love, Afare’s website within 50 hours. The launch of Love, Afare also garnered more than six PR coverages and more than 40 tags by key opinion leaders. Love, Afare’s products are now distributed across major supermarkets and at popular online platforms such as Lazada and Fairprice Online.