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Manish Amin, VP of marketing at Solely<\/a>, described an experience he thinks perfectly conveys how unique Solely\u2019s fruit jerky product is. He was talking to a buyer at an industry trade show and put an actual mango and guava next to the brand\u2019s Mango Guava product. Amin mentioned that the pieces of fruit<\/a> were the only ingredients in the Solely product. \u201cThe guy said: \u2018This doesn\u2019t have gelatin or sugar?\u2019 This was an industry professional, and he actually looked at the ingredient list on the back,\u201d Amin said. \u201cHe couldn\u2019t believe it was just fruit. That\u2019s how remarkable this product is.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n That simplicity is the foundation of Solely\u2019s brand, but it’s not easy to overcome the feeling that your product is too good to be true. When Amin joined the company in 2022, he felt that the packaging wasn\u2019t working hard enough to get that message across. \u201cWe were seeing good traction, but there was an opportunity to reflect the product and the brand more clearly and succinctly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Amin collaborated with two agencies to accomplish this, starting with Fortnight Collective, a global agency based in Boulder, Colorado. Fortnight was tasked with helping clarify and crystallize the brand\u2019s overall positioning, as well as handling redesigns and other assets for Solely products. \u201cPreviously, Solely was hiding its most important and differentiating brand attribute\u2014it\u2019s 100% organic fruit,\u201d said Andy Nathan, founder and CEO of the agency. \u201cThe goal of our brand positioning and package design was to make this very important difference clear.\u201d<\/p>\n Fortnight completed its work quickly (the agency prides itself on moving swiftly from kickoff to completion), defining the brand platform and distilling the brand down to the phrase “the fruit, the whole fruit, nothing but the fruit.\u201d The agency then conducted broad design exploration, ultimately creating the packaging design system, and led photo shoots as well as the creation of assets for several of Soley\u2019s products, including the fruit gummies and dried fruit.<\/p>\n Matt Kubis, creative director at Fortnight, believed this work created the foundation upon which to build the brand further. \u201cThe platform we created was all about being truthful, bold, and honest. We gave more clarity and prominence to the integrity inside of every Solely package,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Armed with strong company positioning, Amin then enlisted Bex Brands, the San Diego-based design agency that has worked with better-for-you brands like Suja and Good Karma. In the creative brief, Amin made clear that while Solely had many great stories to tell\u2014flavor, organic ingredients great relationships with farms, etc.\u2014the brand needed to focus its messaging. \u201cYou can’t deliver 15 messages in the one second you have with consumers at the shelf. And that’s what we were attempting to do with the old design,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Of course, grocery aisles are filled with products touting their purity (consider how many brands include the word \u201cSimple\u201d or \u201cSimply\u201d in their names), but no one had a stronger story to tell than Solely. Jeremy Dahl, co-founder and creative director at Bex Brands, knew that while the fruit itself would be the star of the packaging, conveying that it was the only star would be next in line of importance.<\/p>\n \u201cYou’re talking about only one or two ingredients in the product,\u201d Dahl noted. \u201cConsumers love the idea of simpler, cleaner ingredients, and if you look at Solely\u2019s competitive set, no one else can compare on that front. Combine that with the delicious flavor of Solely, and it\u2019s an exciting story to tell.\u201d<\/p>\n First, the fruit. To better convey appetite appeal, the brand replaced the illustrations on the previous package with photography of the fruit (with a cross-section cut to show the juicy goodness inside). Amin recalled a particularly long day getting the shots for each flavor just right. \u201cI think it was a 14-hour day,\u201d he recalled.<\/p>\n While the fruit is photo-realistic on the new design, the hand remains illustrated\u2014a deliberate choice to retain a distinctive asset. \u201cThe hand represents everyone\u2019s hand, really,\u201d Dahl commented. \u201cThe farmer\u2019s hand, the hand of the person placing it on the shelf, and ultimately the hand of the consumer. It\u2019s a reminder of all the people involved in creating and enjoying this fruit snack.\u201d<\/p>\n To drive home the simplicity of the product, the brand streamlined communication as well. Gone is the \u201cone whole organic mango\u201d language, and the vegan and non-GMO badges have been removed as well. \u201cWe had to make some tough choices in order to distill the messaging down, and moving those badges to the back was one of them,\u201d noted Amin. \u201cWe had to focus on what drives behavior, and organic is a higher priority for our consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n The wordy \u201cpromise\u201d from the previous design was also removed, replaced with the flavor name in bold lettering against a bright ribbon of color, which communicates and captures attention. \u201cConsumers need a clear understanding of what SKU they\u2019re looking at,\u201d Dahl commented. \u201cWe needed to communicate these varieties in different ways, some direct and some indirect. This color and the clear description of the flavor complemented the imagery of the fruit above.\u201d<\/p>\n To clarify the product\u2019s positioning, \u201cfruit jerky\u201d is now more prominent (with the word \u201corganic\u201d added for emphasis) and a clever badge\u2014styled to look like a produce sticker\u2014showcases the number of ingredients in an unmistakable way. \u201cWhat you see on the front of the pack is what you get inside. We wanted to take something from the produce aisle and repurpose it to articulate simplicity,\u201d Amin recalled. In case it wasn\u2019t clear, the claims at the bottom hammer home the message: \u201cNo sugar, no artificial anything, nothing but the fruit.\u201d<\/p>\n Once it was launched, Solely\u2019s new design was met with enthusiastic approval from a broad range of stakeholders. \u201cI have never been a part of a redesign that received such a positive response from retailers, as well as from key advisors and our board,\u201d said Amin. \u201cI think there was a sense that the packaging finally reflected the product inside.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Consumers seemed to be just as ardent in their approval. During the six months following the launch, sales grew more than 61% compared to the same period during the prior year, despite the fact that the fruit-snack category was nearly flat overall (0.4% growth). Designalytics\u2019 testing affirms this result: Nearly two-thirds of consumers preferred the new design over the previous version.<\/p>\n When reflecting on the success of the new design<\/a>, Dahl doubled down on the importance of simplifying. \u201cWhen you have a great story like Solely, there\u2019s this urge to say everything on the package,\u201d he commented. \u201cYou have to make informed decisions about what is most important. You also have to remember to connect with consumers emotionally first and then more logically.\u201d<\/p>\n In part, Amin credits taking the perspective of the brand\u2019s target audience. \u201cBe as critical as your most critical consumer,\u201d he said. \u201cAt times it\u2019s easy to make compromises based on your own understanding of the product, but you need to maintain a consumer mindset.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Most of all, though, Amin thinks this design is just\u2026well, more beautiful. \u201cThis is a much more appealing design than our previous one. And more often than not, it\u2019s the art on the packaging that draws consumers in.\u201d<\/p>\n This article was provided by Designalytics. For more information, please visit\u00a0<\/em>https:\/\/www.designalytics.com\/<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n