Finnebrogue unveils ‘Better Naked’ brand refresh & launch of first TV commercial

UK’s biggest bacon brand to undergo refresh for fourth birthday as Finnebrogue gears up for plant-based push in 2022.

New TV commercial – ‘Hungry for a better world’ – to hit the small screen in January.

Finnebrogue sets Guinness World Record^TM title for largest vegan burger – with Evolution Burger weighing in at huge 162.5kg.

New Denis Lynn Scholarship for Sustainable Food Innovation also announced – the UK’s most lucrative food education scholarship, in memory of late Finnebrogue founder.

Finnebrogue Artisan has unveiled its Better Naked brand at the premiere of a landmark new television commercial, to be broadcast on ITV in January. Naked – the UK’s biggest brand of bacon – has expanded into plant-based over the last year.

The refresh on the eve of the brand’s fourth birthday will mark the start of a major plant-based push from the Northern Irish food producer in 2022. The company’s continuous efforts to make food the best it can be, without being bound by the way it’s always been done, is one of the key drivers behind the brand’s evolution.

The new look Better Naked will be supported by a million-pound TV ad campaign, which broadcasts on ITV from January.

It features a young mum called Helen who wants to make changes in the world. She’s not a scientist, nor a politician, nor a superhero, but she can make changes, with Better Naked.

Better Naked make the most wonderfully nutritious and delicious food but they do it in the most sustainable way they can. They’re not perfect – who is? – but they’re always hungry to do more. Helen’s a mother, a veggie and her partner is not.  So what? But together they can change the way they eat, and this can begin to change the world.

The premiere of the TV commercial comes as it is also announced that Finnebrogue has set a Guinness World Records^TM title for the largest vegan burger. A special version of the Naked Evolution Burger tipped the scales at a whopping 162.5kg.

At an exclusive event in Belfast, the firm also unveiled the new Denis Lynn Scholarship for Sustainable Food Innovation in collaboration with Queen’s University. It is being billed as the most lucrative food education scholarship in the UK.

It amounts to £20,000 of tuition and living support, internships at Finnebrogue, the non-profit organisation Foundation Earth and a renowned international food producer, with a job within Finnebrogue’s innovation hub upon successful completion of the year-long Masters programme.

Applications for the first year of the scholarship open early next year.

Commenting on the brand refresh, Finnebrogue’s Chief Strategy Officer Jago Pearson, said:

“Our Naked brand has been an enormous success story since its launch four years ago. We have major ambitions for growth in the years to come and this refresh marks a natural point of evolution as we continue to branch out from our revolutionary nitrite-free bacon into a full range of meat and plant-based products that are good for people and good for the planet.

“The brand is an embodiment of our business and our values. Our new television commercial, ‘Hungry for a better world’, not only encapsulates our restless drive to do better, but is a statement of intent as we launch a £1 million TV campaign for the first time.”

WORLD RECORD HOLDER

On 18^th November 2021, Finnebrogue Artisan set a Guinness World Record^TM title for the largest vegan burger. The record was set at Finnebrogue’s site in Downpatrick, Northern Ireland, and was watched on by ex-Blue Peter presenter Radzi Chinyanganya.

Under the critical eye of the Guinness World Record^TM  adjudicator, Jack Brockbank, the team of ten colleagues set about creating the record weight of 100kg to include bun, burger, one condiment and one sauce. This mammoth undertaking began as a flippant idea in early October and within six weeks, the team had designed and built a 162.5kg / 1.2m diameter burger with bun and condiments.

The record-breaking patty is equivalent to 1274 Naked Evolution Burger patties while the condiments included 10kg of tomatoes, 4.5kg of lettuce, 7kg of cheese, 2kg of tobacco onions, 5kg of gherkins, 5kg of Naked without the oink rashers and 5kg of burger sauce.

Commenting on the Guinness World Record^TM title, Sean Kearney, Finnebrogue’s Innovation Process Manager said:

“Creating a 100kg burger was a challenge but in true Finnebrogue style, we wanted to exceed that and do better. The team designed and built everything, including a swing to aid turning the patty without breaking it.

“The core of the patty took nine hours to cook and to ensure there was no waste on the day, the record-breaking burger was sliced and served up for employees and some donated to a nearby Simon Community Hostel for the homeless.”

The Better Naked Evolution Burger is available at:

Waitrose 

ASDA

The Vegan Kind