How Generational Shifts in Breakfast Habits Launched an Oddly Eccentric Soft Drink Universe

It used to be “the most important meal of the day”. 

Today, however, breakfast is under pressure in the Danish households. Surveys show that up to 7 out of 10 young people skip breakfast daily. A challenge for Danish fruit company Rynkeby Foods, who has had a strong tradition of communicating their range of products within a breakfast setting, showing the family gathering around a well-laid breakfast table filled with of toasty buns, eggs, cereal – and juice from the signature brand Rynkeby.

So, consumers aged 18-35 needed to be reached in new ways. Therefore, over the past few years, the Rynkeby brand has shifted from dominating the juice category and breakfast situation to also being present in the category of fruit-based drinks. Drinks that are consumed much more on the go, which makes Rynkeby relevant in more contexts throughout the day.

Aligning with the new market approach, Rynkeby Foods needed a fresh start in their brand communications. A demanding, but fun task, according to Robert Cerkez, executive creative director at creative agency &Co. / NoA, who’s behind the new quirky universe:

"It's never an easy task to reach a young audience. However, it's always a fun challenge. In this case, it was a task of moving Rynkeby to a completely new place," he says about the ambitious campaign focusing on the fruit drink 'TØRST' (THIRST, trans.).

The campaign has been named 'Find din TØRST, sluk din TØRST' ('Find your THIRST, quench your THIRST', trans.), and is built around a fairy tale universe where an eccentric grandmother lives with her five grandchildren in the deep forest deep in a forest with her five grandchildren. She is tired of them always lounging on the veranda, so she sends them into the forest to find their thirst.

"With the concept, we have created a universe that is significantly different and really fun to work with. Both visually and in terms of content. It's not just about drinking something with fruit, but also about finding your own way into the diversity of the world. This will be the basis for Rynkeby's overall universe going forward: youthful courage, age-old wisdom, and a touch of unexpected magic," Jacob Benjovitz and Martin Baltzer, art directors at &Co. / NoA, explain.

Magnus Renfors, director at HOBBY Film, further elaborates, "Building a universe yourself allows for so much oddness and anarchy since it is our rules, our world, and that is something I, the whole team, and &Co. enjoyed playing around with! The physical theatrical backdrops, the wardrobe, the bizarre camera lens behaviour – same lenses that they shot ‘Poor Things’ with – as well as the acting and lines. It was all a big playdate of the best kind!"

This new direction in Rynkeby Food’s brand communications differs from how the company traditionally has approached their consumers. And it’s part of a yearlong strategy of revitalising the brand, according to Kathrine Bjerrum, marketing director at Rynkeby Foods, "The Rynkeby brand may have become a bit outdated when seen through the eyes of consumers aged 18-35. Therefore, over the past few years, we have been working to revitalise the brand and strengthen brand perception among young people. The new campaign is part of that process, so even though the campaign may seem like a sudden revolution of the brand from the outside, we see it more as an evolution that spans several years."