IQ Design Creates Juicy Appeal on 'Better-for-You' Candy Packages

Simply Lite Foods asked IQ Design Group to create a candy package that would appeal to both kids and parents, and convey both sweetness and health.

Simply Lite Foods has long been a strong advocate in United States' "War on Obesity." The company, headquartered in Commack, NY, is known for licensing the Sweet'N Low name for several sugar-free products. The company recently teamed with the Sunkist Growers of California and IQ Design Group to introduce a low-calorie candy.

Simply Lite licensed the Sunkist brand name specifically for this new candy and developed a strategy to establish a new category. They asked IQ Design Group, a Manhattan-based branding consultancy, to create a complete packaging and brand campaign that would introduce Sunkist candies with a big splash. Simply Lite did not want to draw too much attention to the low-calorie aspect of the treat, but rather to push the taste appeal as any candy would. "From the initial concepts, IQ Design understood exactly what we wanted," says Gina Prescia, brand manager at Simply Lite Foods.

Sweet as can be

Prescia explains that since you cannot market sugar-free candy to kids, the idea was to market the product subtly as "Better for You." Of course, the Sunkist candy does not contain saccharin, but instead contains more real fruit juice to make up for the reduced sugar. Another ingredient is a "sweetener" of sorts, polyol, which is a sugar alcohol that often serves as a bulking agent in candy.

IQ Design was grateful for the opportunity to fine tune the Sunkist image and logo for this new product. IQ Design took the Sunkist soda can presentation and turned it up a notch to make it fun, exciting, and appetizing. IQ Design gave the now-glowing Sunkist wordmark shadow and dimension, added drops of juice spiraling outwards from the center, and added a sunrise background with a textured border suggesting a halved orange.

Leslie Tucker, chief creative officer at IQ Design, saw this project as an opportunity to create a "responsible candy" brand, and create a Sunkist identity versatile enough for all substrates. Tucker says what the Sunkist candy line needed was to show ownership of an emerging category with its packaging identity. IQ Design keyed on luscious images of fruit rising out of an ocean of juice.

On the final pouch package, there are all kinds of graphic movement and energy, and the stars in the ocean create a depth of field illusion. "People are drawn into complexity and intricacy," says Tucker. She emphasizes that the packaging will convey tasty candy as long as it meets the "taste profile" of the consumer. "We're not going to tell them it's healthy—that might kill the sale," Tucker says.

The finishing touches

IQ Design hit upon a catchy new tag line—"Take a Fruit Trip!"—to be tied into a fun-filled website for kids. Small modifying words above the product variety name on the front, such as "Sun Sparkled," intensify the flavor appeal. Copy on the back invites kids to come to "Sunkist Land," concluding with: "Families everywhere surely know a Sunkist Fruit Trip is a place to GO!"

Bob Avino, production director at IQ Design, was thrilled to have the project because the printer in China that they were going to use had just purchased a 13-color gravure press. The brilliant and colorful packages ended up using 10 colors on a clear pouch substrate, which the printer preferred. A double flood of white makes the colors of the pouch bright and vibrant. However, time constraints demanded that the files sent to China had to be foolproof the first time. Avino's staff built pre-separated files of CMYK channels and six spot-color channels. He was amazed when the China printer turned around cylinder proofs in two weeks.

Avino explains why the common windowed pouch would not have served any purpose for this project. Three of the four varieties contain five mini "Power Pack" pouches inside the larger pouch, so letting consumers view the product was not a priority. The Power Pack concept follows the packaging trend of calorie-conscious portion control. In this case, the smaller packs inside contain either 80, 90, or 100 calories each, depending on the variety.

Prescia explains that online focus groups bore out IQ Designs brand strategy to appeal to both kids and parent at the same time. Out of four packaging "finalists" reviewed by over 1,000 online respondents, the final design proved to be most popular with parents and kids alike.