When you walk into a store you usually have the low end or store brand, the moderately priced item and then of course the high end. Nowadays some of these products are blending together. Some of these house/store brands are even doing a better job on their packaging than big names! Here is a prime example: Cutex.

For years, Cutex has been a household name in nail care, but lookalike packaging by competitive branded and private-label products was beginning to confuse consumers. This confusion caused Cutex to lose market share. The worst part was that in a Cutex Brands survey, eight out of 10 respondents claimed they were buying Cutex products, even though sales share showed that was not possible. Can you believe it?

To reverse this cycle, Cutex decided that they were in need of an update, and needed to differentiate their package. While retaining the basic bottle silhouette to make the container instantly recognizable as nail polish remover, the design team made critical changes. Among the structural changes, the bottle height was increased which provides more visibility on shelf.  Notice the cap. They replaced the standard, straight lined cap with a reverse-tapered closure which elongates the bottle and accentuates its upscale appearance.

Adding femininity and a premium image to the bottle, a decorative, swan-like shape was debossed on its front panel. The front label was then die-cut in the same swan shape and updated with a modernized logo, softer graphics, and a lighter pastel-color palette.

What do you think?

Even though I have never heard of Lyons Cakes, their newly designed packaging caught my eye.

In reading more about the company in when they were founded and what they were about, the re-design I think will serve the company well. Take a look at the old packaging compared to the new:

The new design explores and celebrate the brand’s rich heritage. The new look rewinds back to its famous history of teashops and its waitresses from the 1890s. (see photo below)

With a long-standing tradition for ‘proper’ cakes, the brand was renowned for its nippy waitresses serving up affordable tea and cake to the masses. Having lost its way over the years, the redesign focused on communicating the brand’s story in a relevant and contemporary manner.

“The new design gave us a chance to transform Lyon’s, rediscovering the wonderful heritage that made the brand famous in the early 1900s. We decided to hero the nippy waitresses at the heart of the teashops to deliver personality & heritage, balanced with a vibrant colour palette to create a sense of modernity for the brand.” Laurence Hunnex, Senior Designer, jkr. (source)

Of course, we are always fans of the package re-design before and afters. Gives us a chance to evaluate what worked before, what works better and whether or not we think the right choices were made. Granted, we may not be experts but hey everyone can have an opinion right?

Bolthouse Farms Yogurt dressing used to look like this:

Notice the transparent label putting all emphasis on the product. The brand hierarchy seems appropriate as well as throughout the product line, the color scheme that is has established. However, one of the key benefits of the product or one important thing to know is that its base is yogurt–which this package clearly states in the beginning of the read. Imagery here looks nice and fresh. 

Although this is new and the die cut label is unique–what do you think of the over all re-design? In my opinion it looks like they took a step back in terms of the unique fonts, placement and the transparent label. Granted, the overall goal of this redesign looks to be to emphasize the health benefits and great taste which it clearly does. I think it works, I just may have to vote with the previous design. What do you think?

Who is 106? Kellogg company! They have recently announced that their 106-year-old Kellogg’s brand will undergo a complete refresh. It all started with the redesigned website. This will be the most significant change in the company’ s history–so you know its big!

What else? With all of the changes one key element is a new tagline that reads as ‘Let’s Make Today Great’ making breakfast the key point in the brand’s image. With such products under its umbrella as Mini-Wheats, Rice Krispies, Special K, Frosted Flakes, and more, this strategy seems like a no brainer.

Second, visual graphics and images have also changed to become brighter, dropping the previous white outline stroke. The classic Kellogg’s script logo was refreshed to have more of a contemporary look.

With Kellogg’s being ranked No. 34 and being the highest consumer packaged goods food brand on the list on Interbrand‘s annual ‘Best Global Brands’ 2011 report, they hope that with the update, that their rank may jump.