Insight -Out Design

Hub, June 22, 2009 — The Tropicana “orange and straw” debacle is well on its way to becoming a classic example of redesign gone wrong. The lesson is simple but profound: Good designers always remember that they are designing for real people, not for their firms, themselves, or even their clients. This means that design and consumer research are inextricably linked.

Tropicana Line's Sales Plunge 20% Post-Rebranding†

OJ Rivals Posted Double-Digit Increases as Pure Premium Plummeted

Advertising Age, April 2, 2009 — Tropicana's rebranding debacle did more than create a customer-relations fiasco. It hit the brand in the wallet. After its package redesign, sales of the Tropicana Pure Premium line plummeted 20% between Jan. 1 and Feb. 22, costing the brand tens of millions of dollars. On Feb. 23, the company announced it would bow to consumer demand and scrap the new packaging, designed by Peter Arnell. It had been on the market less than two months.

Tropicana to Abandon Much-Maligned Juice Carton†

Wall Street Journal, February 24, 2009 — PepsiCo Inc.'s Tropicana Products juice division said it is dropping a new carton just six weeks after rolling out the design to great fanfare, after customers complained that they couldn't differentiate between the company's pulp-free, traditional and other types of juice.

Tropicana Discovers Some Buyers Are Passionate About Packaging

IT took 24 years, but PepsiCo now has its own version of New Coke.

New York Times, February 22, 2009 — The PepsiCo Americas Beverages division of PepsiCo is bowing to public demand and scrapping the changes made to a flagship product, Tropicana Pure Premium orange juice. Redesigned packaging that was introduced in early January is being discontinued, executives plan to announce on Monday, and the previous version will be brought back in the next month.

As Consumers Try to Cut Back, Tropicana Promotes Quality and Value

New York Times, January 8, 2009 — HOW much does Tropicana want to become America’s main squeeze? Enough to undertake a major makeover of its advertising, marketing and packaging, centered on “squeeze” as a noun as well as a verb.

The campaign carries the typographically challenging theme “squeeze it’s a natural,” which is intended to evoke the way oranges are turned into Tropicana along with the warm way in which the company wants consumers to embrace the brand.