Ridley's modernises portfolio with new look and logo

Ridley's has given its entire brand portfolio a new look and introduced a fresh corporate image in an effort to boost national recognition of its brands.

The Essex-based brewer, faced with fierce competition from neighbours Greene King, Shepherd Neame and Adnams, has modernised its range of cask ales as part of a major rebranding exercise.

The company has changed its company logo by replacing the old image of the brewery with a bull taken from the Ridley coat of arms and re-introduced the apostrophe to its name.

The Ridley's bull will adorn all the revamped packaging including new pumpclips and point-of-sale material and will eventually go on all pubs belonging to the Ridley's estate.

Nelion Ridley, marketing manager, said: "We had a long, hard look at our brands and realised that they were rather tired and suffering in a marketplace where everyone was rebranding.

"We have re-affirmed our position as the Essex brewer, moved emphasis away from Chelmsford towards Hartford End as the rural heart of the county and given all our brands innovative new designs in what is a significant change for us."

Ridley's has also announced a number of changes to its brand portfolio.

It is to reduce its range of seasonal beers from 12 to four and concentrate instead on three core brands, Old Bob, IPA and a new beer that is currently on trial and earmarked for release next February, currently referred to as Brand X.

Mr Ridley said: "We want to focus on quality rather than quantity and move away from funny, wacky names that weren't doing us any favours.

"We have inundated people with a variety of different beers but there has been no long-term clear message.

"People know of Ridley's brewery but in order to survive in today's marketplace you need to have strong recognisable brands and without them it has proven very difficult to establish ourselves on the national stage."

Brand X, a 4.1 per cent ABV beer, will replace ESX Best Bitter and Spectacular which have failed to establish themselves in the market.

In order to concentrate fully on the launch and development of Brand X, Ridley's has decided to scrap its seasonal range next year save for a commemorative Jubilee ale.

Two "maintenance" brands, Rumpus and Bitter (formerly known as BCB) will remain but will not receive priority marketing while the future of Mild is being reviewed.