In their quest to differentiate their Retail Brands range UK retailer Asda and their agency Our Creative asked the question “How do you elevate the experience of a ready meal into a fine dining occasion?”

The result was the expansion of the retailer’s premium brand Asda Extra Special to a new range Asda Extra Special Gastro that capitalized on the dine-in experience at home category that naturally occurred due to nation-wide lockdowns. The team were challenged to create a more premium offering (in an already premium tier) to justify the trade-up in price, while also looking into how to use a large pack format to elevate the experience at home.

The team identified a new U.K. consumer desire to re-create top restaurant quality experiences, from the comfort of their own home. Forgetting “perfect imperfect” and casual food styling, instead providing something aspirational, precise and artistic to convey the creative flair you would expect from fine dining.

The strictly consistent design architecture of the package design provides brand blocking, and a presence that’s hard to ignore in case. Making use of ASDA’s Extra Special purple with a rich and textural background that runs throughout.

The large pack format allows the design to tell the product story, from provenance and ingredients to expertly selected wine parings. While also providing a step-by-step journey of how to recreate the artistic plating for that insta-worthy shot, elevating the experience while also providing an attainable way to achieve the photography on front of pack.