Continental Biscuits Limited (CBL) recently launched a new biscuit, Bakeri Nankhatai with the objective of making nankhatai – a traditional sweet bakery delicacy – easily accessible all over Pakistan.

Although Bakeri Nankhatai is the first of its kind branded product in the market, it competes directly with sweet biscuits offered by local bakeries, says Munib Rizavi, Brand Manager at CBL. “We have taken a product that is an integral part of our culture, offering it to consumers in an affordable, hygienic and convenient way.”

While nankhatai is popular in Pakistan, it is limited to certain bakeries and geographical locations, mainly in Punjab. With this launch, CBL aims to make the product available nationwide. Bakeri Nankhatai targets individuals of all demographics as Pakistanis generally have a ‘sweet tooth’, “but going forward we aim to make our product relevant to a younger audience and strengthen their association with this traditional product,” says Rizavi.

Given that nankhatai has been around for a long time, consumer awareness and a developed taste is already present and these factors may assist CBL in establishing the product in the Pakistani biscuit market.

“The consumer research results were very encouraging and based on that we decided to launch Nankhatai on priority basis.”

However, considering the intricacies involved in making nankhatai, it remains to be seen if this factory-made product will be successful in meeting consumers’ expectations when it comes to capturing the true taste of nankhatai.

Bakeri Nankhatai’s packaging also made waves when it was picked by Packaging of the World (an international website that showcases the most creative packaging work from all over the world, and is visited by approximately a million people every month) in November. Bakeri Nankhatai is the first Pakistani brand with packaging design done by a Pakistani agency to be featured on the website. (Shezan All Pure was also featured in 2012 however in that instance the work was done by a UAE based agency; similarly work by a Pakistani agency called Centrespread was featured earlier this year, however in that case the client was Australian.)

Talking about Bakeri Nankhatai’s packaging, Azmeena Rahmatullah, Copy Writer at Spectrum Y&R (Bakeri Nankhatai’s ad agency) said, “The concept behind the packaging was to depict nankhatai’s rich heritage, which has roots in the Mughal Era.”

The packaging design traces the history of nankhatai, showcasing the old walled city of Lahore and how the biscuit became a staple part of every bakery in the city. The design is meant to complement the product’s rich, traditional flavours, and the use of gold and red colours along with intricate detailing in the form of sketches adds “a touch of royalty to the product,” Rahmatullah adds. The design team included Salman Khan (Visualiser), S.A Qadir (Illustrator) and Arsalan Ahmed (Art Director) at Spectrum Y&R.

Bakeri Nankhatai is in the process of being rolled out and is currently available in most major cities of Pakistan. It is available in four SKUs; the family pack, snack pack, bar pack and tikki pack.