Duchy Originals Web site picks up APA gong

Duchy Originals, the organic food company founded by Prince Charles, has won an APA Award for its Web site. The site, designed by Story Worldwide, uses storytelling techniques to that aim to allow Duchy Originals deepen its relationship with existing and new consumers and use its position in the market to encourage debate about the environment and methods of food production. Beating off competition from British Airways, Tescos and Honda F1 Racing, Duchy Originals won the Best Designed Website award at the 2008 APA Creative Awards, which are designed to show ‘how creativity can be used to engage a customer with a brand in the most compelling way’. The APA praised the Duchy Originals Web site for being "fresh and original" as well as being "exactly on-brand with some fascinating content".

The Web site is built around the Duchy Originals’ philosophy and beliefs. Central to this is the notion that its food ‘is good’ (because of its organic and artisan production), ‘does good’ (because all profits go to charity) and ‘tastes good’ (because it uses the best ingredients and works with the finest UK producers). In other words, if a biscuit tastes great it's not simply a happy coincidence, it's intrinsically linked to the method of production and to Duchy's approach to food.

Launched in May, the site’s appeal is driven by its stories including how oats grown at the Duchy Home Farm in Tetbury sowed the seed for Duchy’s first product, the Oaten Biscuit, how Duchy Originals has grown to work with over 30 UK producers to make a wide range of products from shortbread to sausages and how almost 20 years later the Duchy Home Farm remains the heartbeat of the Duchy Originals business. The next development stage of the website will see Duchy Originals retail online from September.

One of the most popular parts of the site is the regular blog by Duchy Home Farm manager, David Wilson. His lighthearted blog educates visitors to the site about what it’s like to work on a farm, the realities of how food arrives on people’s plates and the connections between food, farming, health and the environment. Recent stories have included the saving of a cow with Milk Fever, the birth of rare breed piglets and how the farm’s two horses, Emperor and Duke, are being used for farm jobs, such as mowing, to help keep traditional skills alive.

For more information see the Story Worldwide Web site.

Digital Arts Staff

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