Heck!

Intent

To refresh HECK! as the bold, playful leader in the sausage aisle, connecting with next-gen consumers and driving excitement through innovative design.

We set out to bring HECK!’s sizzle to the sausage aisle

The challenge

Launched a decade ago, HECK! has become one of the UK’s best-loved sausage makers, holding a 60% share of the premium sausage market. The Yorkshire-based brand has ambitions to grow further and become an established category player — but new competitors are shaking up the category with bold designs and product innovations. HECK! needed a fresh approach to continue standing out.

We set out to bring HECK!’s sizzle to the sausage aisle and connect with more consumers, by leaning into the brands’s unapologetically bold and quirky personality, overhauling its visual identity, and developing a playful brand platform for its evolving suite of product — all while staying true to its core family-led values.

The idea

We brought HECK!’s quirky personality to life with a daring new look, foregoing outdated butcher tropes. Hot pink became the brand’s signature color across packaging and other touchpoints, while the exclamation mark evolved into a statement-making visual element. Stylized typography and a reinvented wordmark from lettering legend Dan Forster signal a bold shift in the brand. Vibrant illustrations ensure pop on the shelf as well as easy product navigation, and product-focused photography emphasize the brand’s range of flavors.

The updated identity sets the stage for What the HECK!, a brand innovation platform that taps into the fun and creative trends that appeal to next-gen consumers and brings newfound soul to the brand’s product innovation. The platform heralds a new chapter for HECK!, one that will be marked by a sense of creative exploration and playful fair as the brand strengthens its lead in the category.

The impact

Launched in Sainsbury’s in April 2024, What the HECK! quickly saw success with shoppers, leading to new listings in Asda, Morrisons, and Ocado. What the HECK!’s sausage rashers are the brand’s most successful NPD launch in several years, capturing the imagination of shoppers and helping the business hit more than £1m in sales in 2024.