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Tropicana Weathers Blowback from ‘Shrinkquivelence,’ Pack Redesign

Infamous in pack design circles for a similar occurrence in 2008, Tropicana once again redesigned packaging in such a way that cost the company 19% in sales. We spoke to expert Brent Lindberg of Fuseneo, designer of legacy pack that's being replaced.

Tropciana's new bottle
The new 46-oz multi-serve bottle format is smaller and sleeker than the legacy carafe-shaped bottle. But the price was reduced, so it's not a true incident of 'shrinkflation.' More like 'shrin-quivelence' according to Brent Lindberg.

Tropicana's legacy carafe-style 52-oz bottle.Tropicana's legacy carafe-style 52-oz bottle.Back when it was owned by PepsiCo in 2009, juice icon Tropicana committed a faux pas with a packaging carton redesign. It backfired, consumers revolted, sales dropped, and the affair became a fundamental case study in how not to handle a packaging design switch.

The company quickly put the genie back in the proverbial bottle, got back into familiar packaging within two months, then went back to the drawing board. The good news was that by 2011, the brand recovered with a well-thought-out, custom, 59-oz multi-serve carafe-shaped clear PET bottle with hefty, premium cap. Lots of focus group-testing was done to arrive at the carafe, and it paid off. Leaving less expensive cartons behind for clear PET, the new bottle reconstituted Tropicana in consumers' minds as a premium product in the category. Over the past decade-plus, the curvy savior of a bottle had grown into an icon of its own, so the ship was fully righted by the time PepsiCo sold Tropicana to private equity in 2021.

Happy ending, right? Other than a blip by way of a size reduction from 59 oz to 52 oz in the intervening years, consumers were happy.

Only, it looks like it happened again. In 2024, Tropicana, replaced its 52-oz, multi-serve carafe bottle with a shorter-necked, 46-oz PET container with a thinner stature and stock, off-the-shelf closure. The smaller single-serve size shifted from a 12-oz to an 11-oz package, also with a revised shape. The company says that the new designs were intended to reduce plastic use, make the bottle easier to pour, and obviate induction sealing consumers needed to remove.

“In both sizes, the cap no longer includes the induction seal therefore is easy to open, without compromising product safety, and contains less plastic: 52% less in the 11 oz and 61% less in the 46 oz,” The Tropicana Company explains on its website FAQ section. “We’ve modernized the product design: this includes a refreshed label to fit the new bottle dimensions and make it easier to find on shelf, as well as new cap colors to create consistency and help differentiate our products. Orange juice will have orange caps, juice drinks green, and any lower sugar products—for orange juice or juice drinks—blue."  

Regarding the material reduction element, a more cynical observer might add that the move from custom to stock packaging that uses less material is also cheaper. Regardless the motivation, a consumer jury deliberated and rendered its verdict. They complained that the new multi-serve bottle was harder to pour and didn't look as nice as the old one. Sales dropped by 19% year over year. 

So, was this Tropicana blindsided by the reaction? Or was this an expected consumer reaction, but the move simply had too many supply chain and material input benefits to ignore? Maybe Tropicana is hoping to quickly weather the blowback, rip off the Band-Aid, and bounce back as soon as consumers get used to the new format.

I didn't have any luck in reaching out to the company, but a Tropicana Brands Group Spokesperson had this to say in a statement: At Tropicana, the consumer is always at the center of our decision making, and our new packaging intends to directly address feedback we’ve received from them. This includes changing the shape of our bottle so it’s easier to pour and store as well as upgrading to a more streamlined and sustainable cap made with less plastic that’s easier to open.  

"These types of changes can take time, and recent third-party data shows that unit sales are returning to normal levels. In addition, a recent survey we conducted of 1,300 loyal consumers confirms they are responding positively to the new bottle: nearly half say the updated packaging has improved their perception of Tropicana, and among those who have purchased the new bottle more than 70% say it will make them more likely to purchase it again. We will also continue to do what we can to further help shoppers get accustomed to our new look, including investing in advertising and in-store elements,” the spokesperson said. New 46-oz bottle design.New 46-oz bottle design.

Expert opinions

To learn more about how the sausage is made in situations like this one, I spoke with Brent Lindberg, head of curiosity at packaging design and prototyping agency Fuseneo, about the nationally reported kerfuffle. Full disclosure, Fuseneo designed the recently eschewed carafe, so Lindberg has some historical skin in the game. But he also knows Tropicana, the package redesign game, and can see the bigger picture. And it’s not all negative—if it were anyone else it might have gone less noticed, but Tropicana’s reputation precedes it, resulting in some of today’s blowback. But it’s not all positive, either.

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