CBX Packaging Design Helps Del Monte Introduce Del Monte Fruit Chillers Frozen Fruit Sorbet

16/03/07 Del Monte Foods -- one of the country's largest and most well-known producers, distributors and marketers of premium quality, branded food and pet products -- has begun rolling out Del Monte Fruit Chillers, a new "freeze-and-eat" brand of fruit sorbet that features packaging created by CBX (Colemanbrandworx), the strategic branding and design consultancy headquartered in New York.

Del Monte Fruit Chillers is a unique fruit treat that is sold in the canned food aisle alongside other Del Monte snack-size fruit products. Once home, consumers can leave Fruit Chillers in the freezer overnight, where they become a frozen fruit sorbet. The product is currently available in three flavors: "Polar Raspberry," "Glacial Mango" and "Arctic Strawberry."
 
The challenge for the CBX design team was both to express the Del Monte Fruit Chillers' brand personality and to educate consumers about the innovative product, said Rick Barrack, Chief Creative Officer/Partner, CBX. "Our design conveys the wholesomeness of Del Monte in a way that is active, vibrant and experiential. We wanted consumers to see that this is an everyday enjoyable frozen treat, so good that you'll savor every spoonful."

In designing the packaging, one objective was to leverage Del Monte's strong equity in fruit by incorporating the brand's well-known shield. "The Del Monte mark conveys trust, quality, and nourishment," noted Christine Arakelian, Account Director on the project. "In turn, this product's appetite appeal and the fact that it is made with real fruit were very important elements to communicate on the packaging. Our design had to convey that the Del Monte Fruit Chillers experience is totally unique. And, as we learned in focus groups, some people are not clear with what a sorbet is so we had to get that across through the photographic depiction of the product."

Also critical was to help shoppers understand quickly that Del Monte Fruit Chillers is a frozen treat even though it is sold in the grocery aisle. "Consumers are not used to buying something in the shelf-stable aisle and then freezing it, so we had to educate," explained Arakelian. "We needed to communicate the freeze-and-eat aspect of the product with color, typography and imagery. What says 'cold'? Is it silver or metallic blue, or is it icicles, etc.? Our initial exploratory designs worked on answering those kinds of questions."

The design also had to reflect the premium nature of the new brand, the convenience offered by the single-serve plastic cups, and the positioning of the product as a treat for the whole family -- not just kids, Barrack noted.

The design development work eventually led to two designs that were tested with consumers and refined further into one. "The final design employed a lot of blue to communicate cold, because blue is more impactful than metallic silver on the shelf and more consumer friendly," Arakelian said. "Silver, though relevant for this product, would not provide the presence needed for a brand new product launch in this category."

Other key elements that helped convey the desired message included dynamic visuals of the fruit for each flavor, a spoon serving-up the frozen sorbet, and bold, playful typography reinforcing "Freeze & Eat" and "made with REAL FRUIT."

"The final design is about taking a moment and enjoying it," added Barrack "It has a swirling background that gets you to the emotional aspect of the product and it has a fun quality."

In addition to the product itself, CBX designed a point-of-purchase floor display carrying the tagline "The COOLEST Treat in the Canned Fruit Aisle" and a 16-count club pack that will be sold by warehouse club retailers such as Costco.