| Winner | Goodman Fielder |
| Marketing initiative | Meadow Fresh Quick Brekkie |
| Marketing partners | DDB, MBM, Steven Adams |
| Finalists | Abe’s Bagels, Nestlé New Zealand, Popeyes Louisiana Chicken NZ |
| Judges’ comments | “A super-smart approach to deploy Steven Adams and associated cultural trends to create a new brand that really was built on strong insights to ensure it resonated with its target audience. In a challenging category with a dominant competitor, being bold enough to take a brand portfolio across the entire strategy led to great success. A year on, it feels like a slam dunk!” |
A bit more awesome
Meadow Fresh and brand ambassador Steven Adams took on the liquid breakfast giant to win over young families with Quick Brekkie.
‘Come at the king, you best not miss.’ This was Goodman Fielder’s tactic when it launched new liquid breakfast drink Quick Brekkie. Others had tried to compete with category leader Up&Go. Others had failed.
But why take on such a challenge? Despite being a trusted player in New Zealand’s dairy game for more than 80 years, Meadow Fresh was losing points to competitors in the fresh white milk category. Less dairy consumption in general and increasing commoditisation saw it conceding ground in 2024.
Meadow Fresh needed to level up and connect with younger families. How? Time to make a switch and position Meadow Fresh as a disruptor with a bigger mission: nourishing Kiwi kids.
“Sign me up,” said NBA star and beloved Kiwi figure Steven Adams.
First real Up&Go rival
He was already on the Meadow Fresh team through a longstanding partnership with his Sports Pathways Basketball Camps, and was looking to extend his involvement with Goodman Fielder. A big milk fan – and a dairy farmer himself – Adams reckoned a new on-the-go liquid breakfast could go one better than the category leader, and use real dairy.
Extensive R&D removed much of the guesswork involved in launching a challenger product. Instead of adding in nutritional benefits to Quick Brekkie – people don’t want a science lesson – the team focused on an easy-to-understand formulation: protein, fibre and energy.
Who won, who they were up against and what the judges had to say.
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Since liquid breakfast is usually bought by parents on behalf of kids, Meadow Fresh set out to reach these
two target audiences. Teaming up with DDB Group Aotearoa ensured the launch landed with impact.
The campaign tapped into Adams’ passions: basketball and anime. Adverts included a classic Super Saiyan-esque transformation as he became “a bit more awesome”, thanks to Quick Brekkie. The anime Adams also featured on-pack, creating a link from screen to shelf.
Eight months after launch, Quick Brekkie had 43% awareness among young families.
The brand secured strong interest and repeat purchase – all while becoming the first real Up&Go rival to not only hold its place, but thrive on shelf.
This story comes from NZ Marketing magazine issue 84, Sept-Nov 2025. Why not subscribe? Get four issues a year for just $50 (including delivery) if you autorenew.
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