Alpen 'Rams' Up 50th Birthday Celebrations with Brand Relaunch

Alpen, the UK’s number one muesli, is celebrating its 50th birthday this June with a major brand relaunch. The £2million investment includes new TV creative, pack design and website as part of its biggest campaign in recent years – ‘Up & Alpen’.

Returning to TV for the first time in over four years, the charming new ad perfectly showcases the ‘Up & Alpen’ proposition thanks to the help of an energetic alpine ram. The spot, created by BBH London and directed by Birth’s Martin Jalfen, uses humour to outline how Alpen can give everyone the endurance to climb their own personal mountains. It is the first work since Alpen appointed BBH as its creative partner following a competitive pitch process in November.

Alongside the TVC, a social media campaign will run across the brand’s Instagram and Facebook pages, encouraging the UK public to ‘get up, get out there and get to it’ with Alpen. In addition, a refreshed consumer-facing website showcases Alpen’s Swiss roots and contains inspirational recipe ideas.  

The £50 million brand, which can already be found in a fifth of UK households, has also unveiled refreshed packaging celebrating its rich heritage. Rolling out from mid-May,* the pack will feature an eye-catching alpine design, delicious product shots and call out its natural health credentials.

Helena Blincow, head of brand, Alpen says: “Here at Alpen, we’ve brought uplifting mornings to adventurous breakfast-loving Brits for 50 years with our delicious portfolio. We have a 31% share of the muesli category and have grown by +4% year on year - that’s why we’re the UK’s original and number one branded muesli!”

“In the last year, 5.6 million UK households have purchased Alpen muesli or bars, and we’re now worth over £50 million annually. As we reach such a big milestone, there couldn’t be a better time to revitalise the brand and accelerate its popularity even further with a substantial investment. 

“Our bold new design and ‘Up & Alpen’ campaign will launch just ahead of traditionally busy summer months for the category, raising awareness of the portfolio and bringing more new and existing customers to the aisle.”

Felipe Guimaraes, creative director at BBH, says:“Expect the unexpected when it comes to the latest Alpen ad. A simple and off the wall idea that demonstrates the energy you harness when having Alpen for breakfast. It's an ad rammed with comedy.”

Martin Jalfen, director at Birth, says: “This is not a typical ad - a ram in the middle of the kitchen, head butting a sofa - therefore less is more. The key for its humour is the fish out of water idea, and because that’s already set up, we kept it really simple.”

*New pack design across the Alpen muesli portfolio; 550g box and 1.1kg bags: variants Original, No Added Sugar, Simply Berries and Chocolate (£2.49 box; £3.99 bags).