SPOTLIGHT: Food & Beverage

Lucky Leaf and CH&B Modernize a
Trusted, Value-Driven Image

The redesigned Lucky Leaf logo set the tone for the entire label presentation, updating the brand without forsaking the equities of the trusted labels.

Lucky Leaf is a trusted brand of pie fillings, juices, apple sauces, and apple specialty items that is owned by Knouse Foods in Peach Glen, PA. The Lucky Leaf brand image—though valued by loyal consumers—had not been altered in decades, and the labels were beginning to have a store-brand feel in comparison with the more modern designs of the competition.

Four years ago, Knouse Foods hired a new director of marketing, Bob Fisher, who had deep experience in food packaging at Hershey Foods Inc. Fisher had a strong feeling the brand could be updated successfully and attract a new generation of customers without confusing any loyal ones. The Knouse Foods management agreed it was time for a change, but they also felt that their brandmark and signature labels might be somewhat "sacred" to loyal customers.

Knouse Foods turned to the Campbell, Harrington & Brear (CH&B) advertising agency of York, PA, for a brand and label makeover. CH&B proposed bold ideas for a new logo, and they pushed for real, accurate photography over the prior food illustrations.

Redefining the sacred

Working closely with the client, CH&B was able to develop a new look for 70+ SKUs that incorporates the tradition and values of the existing brand while radiating a totally new and updated appearance. The cornerstone of the project was settling on the best new logo that could achieve all objectives. "The feel of the new logo is very much traditional," says Angela Wenner, the CH&B account executive for the Lucky Leaf project. The confidence in the logo largely dictated the rest of the label design, as the "flowing" nature of the logo is reinforced throughout.

Knouse Foods and CH&B also asked Perception Research Services in Fort Lee, NJ, to test the new labels against the competition and against the previous labels. They found that the labels were quickly noticed on shelf, and that test subjects' eyes went to the brandmark first when viewing the label in isolation. Research also suggested that consumers were comfortable with the new look and could quickly recognize their trusted Lucky Leaf brand with positive name recognition. Fisher says that having the new designs proven out in research really sold Knouse Foods on the entire project.

"I think we ended up getting more effective packaging," says Mark Leinaweaver, CH&B's creative director. Leinaweaver and Wenner always thought that there had to be a strong connection to the past, to link the old icon-driven logo and the new type-driven logo, and Fisher agrees that the new logo does not forsake the Lucky Leaf heritage.

The "glow" of the time-honored but dated Lucky Leaf logo returned behind the logo of Limited Edition seasonal products.

Advertising on shelf

Fisher says that Knouse Foods does not participate in many sustained advertising campaigns, so the brand must come through loud and clear on the labels. That is the major reason for the accurate, real photography of the product in finished baked goods on the pie filling labels. "At the end of the day, this is our primary contact with the consumer," says Fisher.

One element that connects the new with the old is the color palette, especially the dark green PMS color that was carried over from the previous leaf. That color is the core green of the new logo and leaf pattern, though made three dimensional with other shades of green.

As part of the process, CH&B also developed a palette to associate specific colors with specific flavors of pie filling, contracted the still-life photography at York's Hayman Studios, collaborated in label recipe development, and helped to make sure the nutritional information met the ever-changing regulatory requirements. For the premium line of pie fillings, CH&B chose a dark burgundy for the top and bottom background "borders" that raises the perception of product quality.

Knouse Foods liked what they saw, and asked CH&B to design labels for special Limited Edition seasonal products, which only appear in aisle POP displays. For the Limited Edition Lucky Leaf labels, the "glow" that surrounded the old logo returned for a "limited" engagement behind the successful new logo.