Wonderworks

It's Biscuit O'Clock | When packaging becomes part of the experience

Discover how Fortnum & Mason turned the humble biscuit into a memorable brand experience. Explore the thinking behind its playful Biscuit O’Clock tins and immersive Biscuitorium. See how packaging, retail and storytelling work together to create a cohesive brand activation. At Wonderworks, we love creative ideas that turn everyday moments into experiences. Read our take on what makes this campaign work so well.

 

IT’S BISCUIT O’CLOCK 

WHEN PACKAGING BECOMES PART OF THE EXPERIENCE

There are few things more British than a biscuit with a cup of tea. So naturally, Fortnum & Mason decided that the humble biscuit deserved its own world.

This year, the brand launched its new Biscuitorium at its Piccadilly flagship, a 200sqm destination dedicated entirely to biscuits, complete with 70 varieties, interactive experiences, playful illustrations and enough tins to make you question whether you really need cupboard space for anything else.

For us at Wonderworks it’s the kind of campaign that made us stop and look a little closer. Not because it’s complicated, but because the idea is remarkably simple.

Enter the Biscuit O’Clock tin

It’s a simple idea: a beautifully illustrated biscuit tin with a clock set to 4pm, officially time for tea, and more importantly, time for dunking. There’s even an 11am version for elevenses.

And this is where Fortnum’s does something clever. The tin isn’t just packaging. It gives a name to a moment.

We all know what 4pm feels like. That slightly awkward point in the afternoon when you’re ready for a break, but perhaps not quite ready to admit you need one.

Fortnum’s simply turns that familiar behaviour into a little ritual: Biscuit O’Clock, and then it takes that idea into the physical world.

Walk into the Biscuitorium and the same playful thinking is everywhere. Biscuits are treated almost like little characters, with flavour profiles, textures, tea pairings and recommended dunking times. The space becomes part shop, part theatre and part discovery experience. One idea, multiple touch points.

And this is where it feels particularly relevant to the work of a Creative Agency. Whether we’re talking about a drinks brand, a food brand or something entirely different, the strongest brand activation ideas tend to be the ones that give people something to experience, not just something to look at.

The Biscuit O’Clock tin does exactly that. It takes the idea home. The Biscuitorium brings it to life in-store. Both feel like different expressions of the same creative strategy.

Fortnum’s hasn’t tried to make biscuits feel unfamiliar or overly luxurious. Instead, it has leaned into the rituals we already recognise, tea, tins, dunking, elevenses and they have added just enough theatre to make something everyday feel worth noticing.

It’s a useful reminder for anyone working in Drinks Branding that a good idea doesn’t always need to create a new behaviour. Sometimes, it just needs to make people look at an old one differently!

Need help finding the unexpected collaboration or brand activation that gets people talking? Get in touch with us today. 

Writted by our Creative, Tilly Todd

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