When P28 Foods first launched its high-protein peanut butter-style spread, it went with a glass peanut butter-style jar.
But it wasn’t enough to make the unique product stand out, so the company decided to start over. And the end result is a jar inspired by sports drinks and nutraceuticals.
“We wanted to get away from being just another typical spread jar on the shelf. With P28, we are always looking to change the game,” says Jeff Prince, director of operations for the company. “We’re always looking to be original and offer our customers high-quality, innovative products. We wanted that same idea to hold true in our packaging.”
And so, the company decided to work with TricorBraun to redesign the jar.
The process at TricorBraun began with the discovery phase. This allowed the team to clearly comprehend, define and help P28 realize its vision. The company took a number of things into consideration, including brand, competitive landscape, technical restraints and success criteria.
It was clear that the package needed to be a PET 16-oz. jar and that there were seven SKUs, but everything else was on the table.
“We were searching for something unique, exciting and high quality that screamed pick me up!” Prince says. “If the consumer picked up the jar just to feel the difference in the structure, we knew this would ultimately lead them to reading about our product and its benefits.”
Samantha Juna, package design manager, TricorBraun, says the company looked at a variety of shapes, closures and different deco methods, including, labeling vs. shrink sleeving the bottle.
“But the big turning point came when we agreed to play up the sports angle and truly differentiate from a regular peanut butter,” Juna explains. “We explored surface changes, more pronounced textures and athletic silhouettes. We took inspiration from some of the sports drinks on the market. We essentially left the peanut butter category and went to nutraceutical.”
And Molly Fuehrmeyer, graphic design manager, TricorBraun, worked to revamp the graphics.
"The goal was to highlight the attributes of the shape of the bottle, and we were confident that a shrink sleeve would be the best deco method to capture the vignette on the arch,” Fuehrmeyer says. “The first approach was to take the original artwork and conservatively make it work with the new structure, but P28 felt that a more playful look was needed while retaining the established SKU colors and the logo positioning.”
The final artwork includes opaque areas where the text is clearly readable. This leads to a vignette that accentuates the shape and then a clear arch that reveals how much product is left. It was important for the flavors—almond butter, signature blend, white chocolate, banana raisin, caramel turtle, peanut butter and apple crisp—to be very visible on shelf.
After a year in the making, the product was launched in the summer of 2015, and then in 2016, the package design won the PAC Global Leadership Award: Silver in the Food & Beverage Brand Revitalization category.
TricorBraun orchestrated the process with multiple outside suppliers. The bottle is manufactured by Pretium, the stock closure is from PANO, and the shrink sleeve is done by Metro Label. The bottles are filled by P28.
For more information: TricorBraun, 630-645-1208, www.tricorbraun.com.
