Gousto DNA Dishes – Chomoi Picho-Owiny

Flavour discovery through your DNA

Half of Brits would feel more excited to try new flavours, but need a little prompt or compelling reason to do so. DNA dishes promoted flavour discovery by connecting you to your food heritage through a DNA test. Fronted by Professor Green and AJ Odudu, they were matched with the findings of their own ancestry to a recipe from Gousto. People could then order a limited edition DNA dishes testing kit. They sold out in just 8 minutes! These confident and adventurous cooks could then explore foods from all over the world via our online cookbook and match their own ancestry with new dishes.

Client: Gousto
Studio: Manifest
Role: Creative Director

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Gousto isn’t number one in the category, but at number two they have big ambitions to become the nation’s favourite way to eat dinner. We knew from audience data that Gousto always wins out on “variety”. Gousto had been putting a great deal of effort into customisation options on their platform. We were looking for a newsworthy way to communicate this to both consumer and corporate audiences and be front of mind when thinking about the category.

With our limited edition DNA Dishes testing kits and our partnership with Living DNA the campaign allowed you to test your DNA, find out more about your heritage and explore the foods of your ancestors.

To launch the campaign, we made a short film with Professor Green (35% French, 20% German, 12% Irish, 10% South Central England) and AJ Odudu (95% Nigerian, 3% Burkina Faso, 2% Cameroonian) where they find out about their heritage and then cook a dish based on their results.

We created a campaign identity, visual language, campaign landing page where you could sign-up for the DNA Dishes testing kit and explore recipes on the platform, a suite of assets across the user journey and social.

Talent posted on their social feeds announcing the brand collaboration.

“We’re always looking for new ways to bring variety and inspiration to dinner time, and this latest innovation gives home cooks a more personalised dining experience, inspiring them with their heritage. Through DNA Dishes we’re hoping to add a sense of meaning and adventure to meal times as people discover new dishes with family connections.”

Kathryn Huxtable, Food Director, Gousto

Outcome