STRATEGIC
BRANDING, INC.
two superfoods combined
Gorton’s wanted to add a product into their brand portfolio that aligned with consumers’ shifting focus on health without compromise. Based on the insight that consumers will no longer trade off on taste for healthier products, Gorton’s looked for options that could meet consumers’ needs for health and added benefits. To meet this demand, they identified an opportunity to create a product based on the growing popularity of “superfoods.” The result was a creation with a crunchy and delicious coating made from Quinoa, Amaranth, Millet, Rolled Oats, Teff, Sunflower Seeds, and Sorghum.
A focus on the taste-appeal was key in connecting with this new consumer. The balance of taste, health, and branding needed to be explored to find the right balance. Learning from consumers that fish already had a healthy halo, and superfoods were clearly healthy (while maybe a little unknown), the package did not have to work hard on health but needed to dial up on taste. A key consideration was that the packaging had to separate from the Gorton’s portfolio but had to have enough tie-back to the brand’s existing architecture.
An overhead food image with more of a modern photography style was selected to highlight the taste and to connect with the consumer. The overhead image focuses on the unique and appetizing coating, which has a culinary feel. The photography style was a familiar style for this consumer, as it mirrors a style used for sharing food images and recipe ideas on social media.
Because consumers know the term superfoods (shorthand for healthy) but do not know the specific grains, an editorial-inspired back panel was developed to inform the consumer and to visualize the grains. The Gorton’s yellow was focused around the brandmark and the variant communication to allow the food photography to naturally blend into its surroundings. A custom-type look was created for the Ancient Grains variant communication, with crafted and quality cues to remain impactful.
The final design differentiates from other Gorton’s products to connect with this new consumer. It maintains enough brand elements to tie the design back to the overall brand’s portfolio architecture, and most importantly, communicates taste by drawing the consumer into the crunchy and delicious food imagery.