Barbara’s overhauls packaging to bring ‘fun’ & ‘vibrancy’ to the natural cereal aisle
“We’ve been pioneers in the natural/organic cereal space for decades, and we understand the importance of staying cutting-edge and offering fresh new takes on the traditional cereal consumers are used to," Michelle Gomez, marketing director of Three Sisters, told FoodNavigator-USA.
"This applies to more than just ingredients, and in looking at the natural/organic cereal set, we saw an opportunity to stand out from the crowd by introducing a fun and bright new look."
She explained that natural, organic and better-for-you cereal packaging “can tend to look dull and blend in an aisle filled with white and neutral tones. With so many options, it can be hard for consumers to sift through the masses to find products that taste great, but don’t compromise on ingredients; we also know that packaging can influence purchasing decision.”
With that in mind, she added, “we saw an opportunity to tackle all of these areas and stand out among the crowd by delivering nutritious cereal with wholesome ingredients through fun, vibrant packaging.”
The new look features a solid, brightly colored backgrounds, including teal, sunflower, rose, orange and red, that better set-off photographs of bowls of the cereal inside each box. This is a dramatic shift from the brand’s previous packaging, which featured bowls of cereal on a light brown or tan woodgrain backdrop that was reminiscent of nature and a breakfast table.
Clarifying call-outs
The brand also introduced simplified fonts to replace the curly cursive, italicized type and playful puffy letters that were used on various different products so that consumers could more easily read key differentiators of the brand, including its commitment to being Non-GMO Project Verified and a few nutritional call-outs for easy reference, Gomez said.
She explained that the clarified call-outs are helping the brand stay up-to-date with evolving consumer demands a more people seek cereals that address special dietary needs, including dairy-free, gluten-free and vegan options.
The changes also tackle one the major roadblocks hindering the cereal segment overall, which Gomez says is the consumer perception that most cereals are sugary and provide little nutritional value.
While this can be true in some cases, she said, “For Barbara’s and all of our Three Sisters brands, we want to help education shoppers nationwide that our offerings provide great nutritional value that taste great and contain high-quality ingredients and never include high fructose corn syrup, artificial colors or preservatives.”
She added: “We also feel it’s our responsibility to be as transparent as possible with our consumers so they can feel good about what they’re enjoying, which is why we’ve listed all of our ingredients clearly on our website.”
In addition to better highlighting the nutritional value and branding, the new look also brings a new version of the brand’s iconic animal mascots.
“One of our favorite aspects of the new packaging is the update to our Puffins and Organic Snackimals boxes with fun, illustrated animals. For Puffins we wanted to bring the endangered seabird to life, so each package highlights the Puffin in a slightly different position,” Gomez said.
The animals also have been simplified compared to previous, more realistic renditions. They now are made with clean lines around solid-filled, geometric shapes for a flatter but still animated appearance.
Taken together, Gomez says that these changes clearly communicate the brand’s dedication to nutritional value while still bringing “happiness to every table.”
