Tropicana abandons pack design following customer complaints

By Staff, brandrepublic.com, Tuesday, 24 February 2009 08:30AM

NEW YORK - PepsiCo juice brand Tropicana is to drop a recent packaging redesign created by Arnell following a consumer backlash, according to a report.

Tropicana Pure Premium orange juice will bring back its old motif of an orange with a straw sticking out of it next month, The New York Times has reported.

The decision comes after the brand received a deluge of complaints from consumers criticising the redesigned cartons, which were launched in January.

The new packaging depicts a tall glass of Tropicana, with the message "100% orange. Pure and natural" written across the carton.

The redesigned packaging aimed to refresh the brand and drive a natural fruit goodness message.

Consumers have said that the new packaging looked "ugly", made the juice difficult to differentiate and gave it a "generic bargain brand" feel.

Arnell, the Omnicom agency responsible for the recent redesign, has pledged support for the about-face.

Peter Arnell, chairman and chief creative officer stated that he was surprised by consumer reaction, but said: "Tropicana is doing exactly what it should be doing. I'm glad Tropicana is getting this kind of attention."

Neil Campbell, president at Tropicana North America in Chicago, acknowledged that the brand had "underestimated the deep emotional bond" that consumers had with the previous packaging.

Tropicana did not see the old motif as something that consumers connected with.

Campbell said: "Those consumers are very important, so we responded."

However, research has shown that the image does resonate with the juice brand's loyal fan base.

PepsiCo is still running a TV, print and outdoor advertising campaign, 'Squeeze', timed to coincide with the design change.

The new cap, shaped like an orange, will also be kept.

This article was first published on brandrepublic.com