Known for its iconic wish bone-shaped bottle and green label, Wish-Bone Salad Dressings has delivered something unexpected with two new dressing lines in a simple 12-oz PET bottle with a handcrafted look that conveys a more premium experience. Introduced in March 2016, Wish-Bone’s EVOO and Ristorante Italiano lines were formulated to offer consumers new salad dressing options with artisan ingredients and robust flavor combinations.
“[With the new lines] we are looking to appeal to a broad consumer base, including Millennials,” says Mark Schiller, Executive Vice President and President North American Retail for Wish-Bone brand owner Pinnacle Foods. “Through our research and category leadership, we are highly aware of today’s salad behaviors and saw the opportunity to provide dressings that excite consumers to make and enjoy more salads at home.”
Brand agency Little Big Brands was instrumental in the selection of the bottle shape and label sizes, and designed the graphics for the new packaging. Says John Nunziato, Chief Creative Officer for the agency, “The Wish-Bone brand team had a vision for elevating the brand and never wavered from that goal.”
As Nunziato explains, the only mandatory requirement from Wish-Bone was to keep the logo, but everything else—from the iconic bottle and green brand color—was changed. “Both EVOO and Ristorante Italiano were expected to take a more premium approach and feel disruptive in the category,” he says. “The handcrafted nature of the product had to be very apparent, and the dressing ingredients had to play a more prominent role on pack. At the end of the day, these had to scream quality and taste appeal.”
The EVOO line of five chef-inspired dressings are formulated with Extra Virgin Olive Oil along with herbs, spices, and other distinct ingredients. The line centers on the health benefits of olive oil and the fresh, robust flavor of the ingredients. For EVOO, Nunziato says Little Big Brands’ strategy was “less is more,” including the use of smaller, die-cut labels that allow the consumer to clearly see the product.
Label graphics for EVOO include a white background that suggests purity, custom typography meant to communicate the time and care that goes into crafting the product, and ingredient illustrations that add taste appeal and help with product shoppability.
Ristorante Italiano, in four varieties, is all about rich, creamy flavors and textures, and is formulated with indulgent Italian cheeses. “As such, the concept around the design heavily leans on cues that utilize typography, color, and imagery that transport you to your favorite Italian restaurant,” explains Nunziato. This includes a rich color palette and ingredient illustrations that are combined to convey the taste experience offered by each dressing. For Ristorante Italiano, Little Big Brands went with a larger label that offers a bigger canvas to tell the story.
“Both EVOO and Ristorante Italiano are very much on trend from an ingredient and positioning perspective,” says Nunziato. “It should bring Wish-Bone into the consideration set for a whole new demographic.”
