"Adult confectionery brand Burnt Sugar is set to unveil a new positioning and identity, following its work with new brand consultancy, The Collaborators. Best known for its selection of fudge featuring grown-up ingredients such as sea salt and balsamic vinegar, Burnt Sugar looked to The Collaborators to help refocus the brand.

“With a plethora of brand messages developed over the years, Burnt Sugar had lost touch with who they were and needed some clarity”, says The Collaborators’ Sharon Brunt. “Being an outsider looking-in helped us to articulate a clear vision for the business not just the brand. We took time to talk to the people connected to Burnt Sugar, in order to uncover the fundamental truths about the brand; from founders Justine and Colin Cather and their team, to senior retail buyers and the brand’s loyal consumers, known as Sweetie Monsters.”

One of the key truths was Burnt Sugar’s caramel expertise and this is central to its distinctive new positioning. The Collaborators developed the brand idea ‘no rules food’, inspired by the intrinsically fun and messy nature of caramel and underlined by the Cather’s ‘give-it-a-go’ approach to business. This idea forms the platform from which all the brand’s communications will flow. Colin Cather says: “Our early attempts at making fudge ended with us burning the sugar, hence the brand name. The Collaborators were quick to hook into this and from there, successfully helped us tell our story through the brand idea they created for us.”

Designed in collaboration with Mary Lewis Design, the new 110g gable-ended packs will hit shelves from August and feature the new identity, which waswritten with real caramel. The brand’s website and sales collateral will also use the same visual language. Brunt adds: “Burnt Sugar is a little gem of a brand and we’re proud to be helping it reach a whole new level of success”."