Nottingham-based firm Doff Portland – the UK’s leading manufacturer of insecticides, weed killers and garden care products – has undergone a major rebrand as part of its strategy to grow its share of the residential lawn and pest control market.

To mark the occasion and celebrate Doff’s continuing involvement in UK manufacturing, Owen Paterson, North Shropshire MP and Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Mark Spencer MP for Sherwood, visited the Hucknall head office on Thursday (23 October, 2013) to discuss the company’s prosperous future.

At the top of the agenda was Doff’s future UK manufacturing plans, employment opportunities for local people and the regulatory environment for UK businesses involved in research and development.

Owen Paterson MP, said:"It was a real pleasure to be invited to visit Doff Portland. It's a great example of a UK manufacturing business reinventing itself. I was particularly pleased to see the significant investment in new equipment which I hope will put the business in prime position to capitalise on the growing global demand for top-quality British products."

Having been acquired by 151 Products in December 2012, the two like-minded companies set out to rebrand Doff to make an already outstanding brand more modern to demonstrate its contemporary appeal to the DIY, garden centre and multiple grocery retail market.

Matt Jones, managing director of Doff Portland, said: “This is a really exciting time for Doff. We’re very proud of how far we’ve come over the last ten months, so welcoming Owen Paterson MP and Mark Spencer MP into our Nottingham factory today was a real honour.  We’re extremely positive about our future as UK manufacturers and look forward to a prosperous future.

Heading up the brand overhaul is a new-look logo, which will feature on all 150 products that will continue to be manufactured in the firm’s Nottingham factory, where the items have been formulated for its entire 65 year history.

The new look branding is extremely crisp and bright, enabling it to stand out against competitive items. Each product has been carefully designed with the packaging style and artwork design at the forefront.

Amanda Lewis, marketing manager at 151 Products, who oversaw the rebrand, said: “The brand’s fresh look will strengthen its on-shelf appeal, which we hope will attract retailers who are looking for smart, contemporary lines to fill their shelves.

“Mixing fresh, bright colours on the packaging allows the products to stand out against competitive items, bringing the brand up-to-date and propelling Doff Portland to the forefront of the garden care industry.”

Doff Portland’s extensive range of plant feed, lawn care and control products has been divided into a variety of easily identifiable categories with retailers in mind. The colour-coded categories, ranging from rodent control and ready-to-use weed killers, makes Doff Portland’s products the easy answer to all gardening problems. The addition of clear usable instructions, which are provided with each product, will also offer the consumer an improved user experience.

Amanda continued: “The brand has received a fantastic response and will be stocked in an increasing number of garden centres, as well as large and small format multiple retailers.”

The rebrand marks a significant step for both Doff Portland and 151 Products, at an early stage of the pair’s three year strategy, which is set to see many more advances in design, packaging and product innovation.

Main picture, from left to right: Trevor Millen, Mark Spencer MP, Graham Whyatt, Owen Paterson MP, Ben Shapiro, Matt Jones, Nick Von-Westenholz.