Sep 10, 2008 6:04 AM, PROMO Xtra

Kraft Foods’ Lu biscuits has teamed up with fashion designer Erin Fetherston to create limited edition packaging for the French cookie brand.

Under the deal, Fetherston-designed packaging will be featured on Lu biscuits’ le Petit Ècolier and Crème Roulee varieties in retail stores in 2009, Kraft said. Brand reps announced the partnership yesterday at a media event at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York where previews of the designs were also unveiled.

To spread the word, Kraft, a Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week sponsor, set up the Lu lounge, a posh space, which features tables, chairs and extensive branding and lets visitors sample Lu products. The lounge will be open through Sept. 12.

“It’s all about style and fine taste,” Stephen Chriss, director of consumer promotions for Kraft Foods’ snacks division, said. “Lu is about being a chic little biscuit. What better place to [promote that] than at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week?”

The effort is part of an overall marketing campaign Kraft launched to drive awareness and trial of the premium brand, he said.

Kraft bought Groupe Danone’s global biscuit business, which included Lu biscuits, for $7.2 billion last year (Promo Xtra, July 5, 2007).

And now the firm is ramping up its marketing efforts to support the business.

“The brand has a low awareness in the U.S.,” Chriss said. “It’s primarily a bicoastal business. We are using these marketing initiatives to create awareness at the right place and at the right time. Ultimately, we are hopeful that will translate into increased distribution and sales.”

The fashion week sampling follows up on Kraft’s recent sponsorship of the U.S. Tennis Association. There, the company also set up a tent and sampled Lu products as part of its two-year sponsorship of the USTA.

This is the first time Kraft has sponsored the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, as well as the USTA, Chriss said.

Separately, Kraft will update its Lu packaging from a white background to feature a black background to help communicate the chic essence of the brand. That packaging update is slated to roll out by early next year, the company said.

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