Spotlight: Food & Beverage Packaging

Design Firm Contemporizes Look of Frigo Italian Cheese, Skippy Peanut Butter Brands

When redesigning the labels of a well-established product line in order to reenergize sales, a key question is how much reinventing is too much. Designers must not lose brand identity by changing color themes or logotype too dramatically. When done artfully, the transition to the new look is nearly seamless to the consumer.

Saputo’s Frigo line of Italian cheese and Skippy peanut butter both recently got a shot in the arm from Smith Design Associates. The 25-year-old firm specializes in visual brand identity and has two main offices, in Glen Ridge, N.J., and San Jose, Calif. Smith Design created fresh, energetic and playful labels for both of these product lines.

The new design of Saputo’s Frigo brand of Italian cheeses has a more contemporary look and includes a revitalized logotype in an energetic, brush italic lettering style. Frigo cheeses, including mozzarella, ricotta, parmesan and romano varieties, have been staples in cooking Italian dishes in this country since 1938, and are available across the U.S.

“The challenge was to bring freshness and excitement to the Frigo franchise, and pump up interest in the Italian cheeses segment,” says Martha Seidner Gelber, vice president at Smith Design. “As a brand with a strong heritage, it was important to maintain Frigo’s Italian color equities, while at the same time making it youthful, fresh, and relevant to today’s consumers.”

“We’ve created a brand look that speaks to fast, fresh, and convenient meal solutions,” says Janet McCullough, marketing manager at Saputo, “And the refreshed identity is a better fit to our premium quality product line.” The Frigo packaging won an International Dairy Foods Association Award at their annual Smart Marketing Conference. Saputo is the leading dairy processor in Canada and one of the leading cheese producers in North America and Argentina, and markets its products under an array of brand names.

Skippy gets skippier

Smith Design also helped Unilever Bestfoods North America with a new look for Skippy Peanut Butter. The reenergized jar labels give Skippy an upbeat, more vibrant approach that does not depart dramatically from the brand’s heritage.

“Skippy’s brand identity and packaging had not been updated since 1996, and it was time for a refreshed, updated look,” says Gelber. “We were careful, however, to maintain the important graphic equities, such as the colors for each variety, and red for the Skippy logotype.” Skippy is the No. 2 brand in the peanut butter sector and comes in six varieties.

The new design continues the brand’s cartoon-style character that was introduced in 2003 on two new “tube” Skippy products aimed at kids—Squeez’It and Squeez Stix. The sunglass-wearing-kid character adds a fun, all-family appeal, yet plays a more secondary role on the peanut butter’s label than it did on the tube peanut butter. “Overall, graphically we have made it easy for current consumers to intuitively recognize the new look as Skippy, while at the same time increasing the brand’s relevancy and appeal to new consumers,” says Gelber.

Smith Design has had much success with redesigning products that target kids, teens and families across a range of product categories. The award-winning branding and design agency has category-leading clients in snacks, food and beverage, confectionery, electronics, toys, and housewares.

Packaging Look is Festive For “Playful Palate” Line Of Upscale Gourmet Foods

In the direct-sales, or “home party,” product distribution market, many manufacturers treat attractive packaging as an afterthought. With a captive audience at a party, the belief might be that the extra expense for professional packaging or creative design would not return extra sales. The belief is that the quality of the product inside is what moves the merchandise.

But even at a home party, the object is the same as on the grocery shelf. You want to entice prospective customers to pick up the product and examine it more closely. Such was the aim when entrepreneurs wanted to launch a new gourmet foods line that was both fun and upscale, and would also catch the eyes of discriminating consumers.

The producers of Playful Palate gourmet foods gave Kelly/Russell Advertising in Kansas City, Mo., complete control, and told them to build the new brand from the ground up. The team was charged with creating a cohesive and comprehensive packaging and brand identity that projected that fun and upscale impact. The comprehensive program included everything from the company’s name, logo, letterhead, stationery, collateral, corporate style guide, and marketing materials.

“Starting with a clean slate was invigorating,” says Justin Russell, the agency’s creative director. “It allowed us to ensure that each and every element —from logo to letterhead to packaging—worked in concert to convey the Playful Palate brand message.” The package design won the Gold OMNI, Kansas City’s highest honor for packaging, and was selected by Communication Arts for inclusion in its 2003 International Design Annual.

“Having been involved in the early taste-testing process for most of the products, we knew that once the box, bottle, or package was opened, the food would more than sell itself,” Russell remembers. “So our job was just to get the would-be buyer to the table and reinforce the brand experience.”

Enough, but not too much

Visually, the goal was to make the packaging upscale but not off-putting, fun but not silly, and personal but not over-the-top. A color-specific label strip wraps around each box or bottle identifies each product line (such as bread, soup, or marinade). To further emphasize the “upscale fun” nature of the brand, the agency commissioned Kansas City designer Jeff Shumway to create the original “party scene” illustration that anchors the product line.

The party scene also reflects the laid back approach at Playful Palate home-sales parties. There is no presentation or hard sales talk at the parties, just sampling of the products in a relaxed atmosphere. Russell explains that Playful Palate plans to refresh its product line each year, and also refresh the illustration, but still maintain a continuity in style.

In describing the packaging, Russell explains that “in the direct-sales industry where home parties are where the products are marketed and sold, packaging is critical to a company’s success because of the dual purpose it serves. First, it must captivate the consumer from the moment she sees it and inspire her to try it. But, just as important, it must appeal to prospective sales reps—who are the sole distributors of the products and who will judge the packaging on its ability to help sell the food.”

New Wave for the Microwave: Self-Venting Films and Pouches With Quick-Cooking Capability

QuickWave International Corp. says that its line of self-venting, microwaveable cooking films and pouches offers a variety of advantages for food packaging and preparation.

According to QuickWave, the films and pouches “work like a flexible pressure cooker in the microwave oven,” cutting cooking time by up to 50 percent and intensifying the flavor of the food being prepared. Because the products’ controlled venting feature enables the pouch or film to breathe under pressure, says QuickWave, there is no need to puncture or vent for ventilation when cooking or re-heating in the microwave oven. The pouch also enables the microwave cooking of frozen foods without the need for power level changes to sequentially effect thawing and cooking.

The films and pouches can go directly from the freezer or the refrigerator to the microwave oven. QuickWave says that food will cook or reheat faster and be healthier because nutritional values and moisture are kept inside the pouch. The products also can save money in energy consumption, eliminate customer intervention, and reduce or eliminate microwave cleanup, according to QuickWave. The products can have optional browning capabilities and be vacuumed packed; all are FDA-approved for food contact.

The basis of the films and pouches is a multi-layer laminated PET/PP composite film with a heat-sealing and pressure-regulating layers. It can be used to manufacture a variety of microwaveable pouches or as a weld-seal, heat sealable lidding film for packaging frozen and refrigerated foods. According to QuickWave, the sealed package stays airtight for storage. During microwave heating, the top barrier film separates automatically from the self-venting film to release the excessive steam pressure to avoid bursting.

Made with 100 percent non-toxic and odorless FDA approved materials, the patented product line includes sleeves and film; flat, stand-up, and zippered pouches; reclosable bags; easy-peel lidding film; and lidding stock. They can be manufactured with conventional packaging machinery and be printed in up to eight colors. For more information, visit www.quickwaveintl.com.