Challenging the age-old stereotypes around beets, the Love Beets line of all-natural, ready-to-eat beets has received a brand and package makeover that highlights the vegetable’s superfood status and makes them more accessible and convenient for consumers. New packaging for the Love Beet company’s marinated baby beet, vacuum-packed beet, and beet juice varieties uses upbeat, modern graphics that make beets more approachable and incorporates peel-and-seal technology that keeps the product fresher longer and allows portioning over multiple eating occasions.
Says Love Beets Vice President of Marketing George Shropshire, “Beets are one of the most challenging vegetables to work with, and not too many people know how best to prepare them. The outcome: They’re boring and flavorless. Furthermore, they conjure up images of ‘grandma in the kitchen’ or canned beets. From the beginning, we’ve defied all of these previous notions of beets with a brand and product that’s upbeat, fun, and delicious—a true ‘superfood’ that can be enjoyed by all. We also make sure to provide our fans with lots of recipes on our website to show how versatile beets can really be.”
The ready-to-eat marinated baby beets are peeled, scrubbed, and infused with one of five flavors, eliminating the time-consuming preparation process. New packaging for the line consists of a 6.5-oz square PET punnet from Display Pack that stands upright and is covered with a resealable film lidding. A smaller, oval plastic container with three sections was created for the company’s snack tray, which includes beets, crackers, and cheese.
New packaging for Love Beets’ vacuum-packed 8.8-oz cooked product in two varieties uses an improved seal that keeps juices locked inside, while a new bottle design for three flavors of beet juice provides a sleeker appearance and includes a 14-oz glass or a 20-oz plastic bottle option.
While the new packaging technology provides plenty of functionality, it is the modern package graphics that convey the brand’s “upbeat, fun, and slightly whimsical brand identity,” says Shropshire. “Our branding has always been unique—from our signature smiley faces to our bright packaging to our friendly logo,” he says. “The redesign has certainly helped modernize our look, but our brand’s DNA is essentially intact.”
The label design was executed by Pentagram, which created a custom font for the brand that helps establish its identity across all of its products and marketing efforts. The smiley face graphic was updated with more variety, and colors were added to differentiate flavor varieties. Outlined on the edges in the designated color, the label is clear in the center, allowing consumers to see the beets inside.
Consumer response during market testing as well as feedback since the new packaging was introduced in September “have been consistently and overwhelmingly positive and enthusiastic,” say Shropshire.
Available nationwide, the marinated baby beets and vacuum-packed products are priced from $2.99 to $3.99, while the beet juices are $2.99 apiece.
