STORMBRANDS has created a vibrant new brand and packaging system for Tropicana’s latest range of real fruit drinks for youngsters: Tropicana Kids Smoothies.
The global agency has partnered with Tropicana for over five years, working as a strategic brand-design collaborator. Tropicana approached STORMBRANDS with its latest brief because it wanted to develop a fun, reassuring and distinctive brand and packaging identity for the launch of Kids Smoothies, and to stand out from competitors such as Innocent and Happy Monkey.
To succeed in such a hot market, it was imperative the resulting design system appealed to both parents and children, responding to key motivators for both.
For parents, that required providing information and cues about the quality of the ingredients, as well as nutritional and sustainability factors. For children, it was all about cool, engaging design with fun-fact elements.
Goodness with a splash of fun
Zoe Phillipson, creative director, STORMBRANDS, said: “We’ve created a brand architecture and packaging system that’s strongly aligned to Tropicana’s iconic core identity, which is synonymous with quality, taste and natural fruit. But we’ve also developed a new system with appeal and credibility as a parent-purchased but child-focused range. It accommodates the needs of both perfectly.”
Balancing fun with integrity was a key strategic move. The design concept couldn’t be too playful without risking some of the positive associations for parents – the primary customer for the multipack boxes on shelf. To achieve this, beneficial credentials – ‘1 of 5 a day’, ‘No added sugar’, ‘Boosted with vitamin C’ – feature on the outer carton, with refreshing real-fruit images and the iconic Tropicana straw.
The real-fruit nature of the product also needed to be celebrated: the smoothies involve a blend of natural ingredients, so all the nutrients remain intact making them healthier than many juice drinks.
The customer for the ‘brand in the hand’ – the child – benefits from personality-led messaging and fun information, like ‘mandarins can get sunburn’ and ‘a pineapple is actually a berry’, which engage kids and create all-important lunchtime talking points.
New user occasions
Tropicana was also keen to progress from iconic in-home breakfast brand to confident all-day hero, delivering all things good and natural in and out of the home. Tropicana Kids Smoothies are designed to slot into packed lunches straight from the fridge – an easy way to look after youngsters’ health when they’re away for the day.
Zoe Phillipson added: “Parents like to choose products that are naturally healthy from brands with trusted reputations. Kids want brand experiences that are fun, exciting and make them look cool in front of their friends. STORMBRANDS has satisfied both audiences with a distinctive identity. The results catch Mum or Dad’s eye in the supermarket, and provide showing-off creds for the kids.”
