A smooth visit to The Museum of Brands!

Our Year 10 Business Studies pupils recently visited the Museum of Brands in London to bring their classroom learning to life. The trip provided an opportunity for pupils to explore some of the topics they have been studying, including market research, customer needs and added value.

Before arriving at the museum, we made a quick stop at Paddington Station to catch up with the world’s most famous bear, Paddington!

Upon arrival at the museum, we were warmly welcomed by our host, Paul, who gave us an interesting introduction to the history of the museum and its founder, Robert Opie. Paul then introduced the pupils to their challenge: a smoothie making competition. However, this was about much more than simply making a smoothie. Pupils had to consider their ingredients, packaging, marketing, slogans and brand identity.

To help them prepare, Paul took the pupils into the museum gallery to complete a short market research activity. Pupils explored how famous brands use packaging, colours, logos and catchy slogans to attract customers.

The pupils then split into three teams of two and began designing their smoothie brands. Each team had to consider its target market and decide which colours, packaging and slogans would appeal most to potential customers. Paul also provided a selection of ten ingredients, from which each team had to choose four for its smoothie.

The competition was on!

Team 1 – Motion in Potion

An interesting and imaginative concept, although the branding seemed more suited to a James Bond film than a smoothie bottle!

Team 2 – Sweet Smoothie

This team appeared to grasp the importance of eye-catching branding. Their design featured a large letter ‘S’ in the centre of the bottle, incorporating the words ‘Sweet’ and ‘Smoothie’, alongside colourful packaging and a clear list of ingredients.

Team 3 – BOHA

Standing for Banana, Oats, Honey and Apple Juice, this team seemed more focused on creating a clever acronym than developing the smoothie itself. With apple juice and oats among their chosen ingredients, we suspect the Dragons’ Den investors might have needed some convincing!

With all three teams having presented their ideas, it was time to select a winner. To keep things fair, we enlisted the help of a computer-generated spinning wheel, which selected Team 2’s Sweet Smoothie!

Following their celebrations, the winning team got to work making their smoothie using bananas, strawberries, honey and coconut milk. Once blended, it was time for the all important taste test. The general consensus was that the strawberries and bananas complemented the coconut milk particularly well.

Our Museum of Brands adventure had come to a smoothie end! We thanked Paul for his hospitality and took a group photograph outside the museum before heading to another of the world’s most recognisable brands, McDonald’s, for lunch.

Overall, it was an enjoyable and valuable experience that allowed pupils to apply their Business Studies knowledge in a practical and creative way. The trip demonstrated that successful branding involves much more than having a good product. Understanding customers, creating attractive packaging and developing a memorable brand identity are all important parts of making a business stand out.