“As a company we haven’t done a refresh in more than five years and there were certain lines that were disappearing on the shelf. … Every time we went in the store, we were having a hard time having our eye catch on them, so we really felt like it was time to bring something new into people’s vision on shelf,” Geri Logan, the marketing and media manager for Living Intentions, told FoodNavigator-USA.
At the same time, the 12-year-old company has matured significantly since its last redesign, and felt like the animated, playful design of its old packaging no longer reflected its evolution into a premium, clean snack that demands an elevated, clean look, Logan added.
For example, she explained that when many of the company’s product lines first launched they were made with mostly, but not entirely organic ingredients. Now, however, many products are fully USDA Certified Organic – a change that demanded label updates to display the certification and provided the opportunity for the complete overhaul, Logan said.
The new bags replace the images of sprouting plants with a large reflective and color-saturated arrow that “pops right off the front of the white package,” and “gives the feeling of forward movement,” Logan said.
Living Intentions swaps photos for windows
In addition, the new pouches eschew the windows of the old bags in favor of detailed, close-up photos of the products – a switch that bucks an industry trend toward more clear packaging to communicate transparency.
Eliminating the windows “was a tough choice for us, and a lot of our preliminary designs had windows,” Logan admitted, but she said the company ultimately made the change because “we thought we could provide the same transparency through the photography.”
She explained, “It is not in our favor to make the photography look different than what is in the package because it may get us a one-time buy, but if it is not the same it is not going to get us a long-term consumer.”
The windows also were problematic because they did not consistently display the food as well as photos. Logan explained “even if the product looked good when you poured it into a bowl, in the window you might have a kernel with a chip that doesn’t look as good.”
Removing the window also gave the company more space to highlight the products’ flavor elements, which are a founding value of the company, Logan said.
Shifting away from “raw”
The rebranding also provides an opportunity for the company to visually mark its subtle shift away from the term “raw” to describe its product and more towards “minimally processed,” Logan said.
She explained that Living Intentions’ products always have been considered raw because they are dehydrated at low temperatures to preserve the ingredients’ nutrient density. And while the company is maintaining that technique for its existing products, adopting minimally processed will give the company more wiggle room in product innovation, Logan said.
“There is a big shift in the industry right now to move away from the word raw … mainly because it is not a regulated term and as a result it is becoming another term that is being abused,” Logan explained
She noted that Whole Foods Market and other retailers are increasingly sensitive to the term and at the same time expanding their raw food sets.
Popcorn expands the company’s portfolio
The shift to the phrase “minimally processed” also allows Living Intentions to expand its product portfolio to other healthy options that are not raw.
Specifically, the company is rolling out a new ready-to-eat Activated Superfood Popcorn that doesn’t qualify as raw, but has other added health benefits, Logan said.
Living Intentions sets its popcorn apart from the deluge of competitors already in the category by flavoring its popcorn with superfood ingredients, including turmeric, maqui berry, chlorella and maca. In addition, the company added a shelf-stable probiotic to the spice blends.
Logan explains that consumers understand the benefit of probiotics and the need for a healthy gut. The addition of the ingredient also elevates the company’s main marketing message beyond that of competitors which focus mainly on the food as a low calorie snack.
Easing the transition
In preparation for the redesign, and to help consumers understand that the new popcorn is part of a larger family of well-established brands, Logan said Living Intentions took several steps to prepare its loyal consumers for the change.
For example, it placed stickers on the old packaging for the past six months telling consumers to watch for a new look. It also is demonstrating the products in stores in the old and new packaging to help consumers make the connection. Finally, the new packs will roll out at different times so that both the old and new packages will be side by side on the shelf for greater awareness of the change, Logan said.