Charlie Bigham is seen by many as the ready meal king despite its higher price – and this marketing expert explains why. The packaging could be more important than you think
Marketing expert, Rory Sutherland, has shed light on what makes one of the UK’s ready-meals a favourite in British households.
Charlie Bigham’s fresh ready meals are a firm favourite for those who want a quick and easy meal – with a restaurant quality feel – thanks partly to the brand’s fancy wooden packaging.
Bigham’s products are considered to be an upmarket option, including fresh, hand-prepped ingredients to create dishes ranging from Thai Green Curry, Beef Ragu and its signature Fish Pie.
Rory Sutherland is a fan of the brand’s marketing – drawing comparisons to household furniture giant IKEA. Sutherland is vice-chair of Ogilvy, one of the largest marketing agencies in the world, and regularly features on podcasts and delivers TED Talks on marketing tips and tricks – many of which consumers aren’t conscious of.
Speaking to Simon Squibb and his 1.5million-strong YouTube following, the advertising exec praised Charlie Bigham for its ability to create a unique ‘culinary experience’ compared to its ready meal rivals.
He said: “All of those Charlie Bigham dishes, this is what I call the ‘IKEA Effect’, it says you have to put them in the oven to cook them. Now, I think that’s because you enjoy the food more when you’ve waited for it and the effort you’ve put into it basically creates a culinary experience the microwave doesn’t.”
Sutherland added: “The other genius thing he did is that style of bamboo packaging stuff – the weird wooden packaging which fundamentally creates a kind of craft manufactured vibe rather than a factory-made vibe. All of those things, we perceive without being conscious of doing so.”
On its website, Charlie Bigham explains another reason behind its packaging. It adds: “Given the care we put into our food, boxing it in plastic just doesn’t feel right. That’s why, 15 years ago, we introduced wooden trays.
“Having found a French family business making cheese boxes from PEFC-certified poplar, we tested the wood to check it was food-safe and oven-friendly. And when we finally found a glue that wouldn’t melt, everything fell into place. The trays took time to perfect, but we’re proud of them.”
Many enjoyers of the Bigham meals aren’t aware that Charlie Bigham is in fact a real person. And, in 1994, he hung up his suit, left his corporate job and went travelling – eventually returning with an inspired collection of foods to create his empire with.
Just two years after travelling, Charlie was selling his creations to local sellers in London before supermarkets shelved the meals in 1997 – Charlie and his team still operate out of London today.
