Ziggurat Brands redesigns Old Speckled Hen

Ziggurat Brands has redesigned the packaging for Old Speckled Hen to help the UK’s premium ale brand reach a new generation of beer drinkers.

First brewed in 1979, Old Speckled Hen has become a fixture on bar pumps and off-licence shelves up and down the UK. The beer was originally brewed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the MG factory in the town and it has long had a loyal following among motoring enthusiasts.

In recent years, the brand has widened its reach beyond this core customer base with the launch of Old Golden Hen, a 4.1% ABV golden ale, and Old Crafty Hen, a 6.5% ABV vintage ale. These were joined in 2014 by Old Nutty Hen, a warming seasonal ale, and Old Hoppy Hen, a hoppy pale ale.

The brand has benefitted from a long-running television ad campaign, which features a crafty fox, Old Speckled Henry, seeking an elusive hen. In recent years the company has evolved the ads to soften the fox’s character and give him a broader appeal.

Putting the craft back

Greene King, the brewer of Old Speckled Hen, recently collaborated with branding consultancy Ziggurat Brands to develop the packaging of bottles, cans and multipacks.

“Our brief was to capture this evolving brand on pack and help the product reach a new generation of beer drinkers,” said Alison Taylor, director of Ziggurat Brands. “Crucially the new designs needed to put the craft back into Old Speckled Hen.”

In the new design, the fox becomes a symbol of the quality of the product and the updated creations represent a clear shift of emphasis from mud-spattered MGs to a sense of the English countryside.

“This is a carefully designed pack but it is one which eschews all sense of corporate control,” said Taylor. “Instead it conveys the passion and fun of the Greene King brewery in Suffolk, and it delivers the promise of a crafted, high quality and enjoyable drink.”

Dom South, marketing director at Greene King, said: “This packaging redesign, courtesy of the talented team at Ziggurat, will help take the Old Speckled Hen family to younger beer enthusiasts while retaining the loyalty of existing drinkers. It was important that we evolved to stay relevant in what has become an incredibly competitive marketplace.”