Using a uniform packaging look and feel for multiple categories provides an opportunity to connect repeatedly with consumers as they move through the store. This is the Safeway supermarket chain's tack with its Safeway Select private-label line.
Already the leader in ketchup, Heinz builds recognition for its other products with a similar yet variable label.
Safeway "is building an overbrand that doesn't just operate in one area of the store," says Larkspur, Calif.-based Harvey Hunerberg, managing partner with CBX (www.cbx.com), a brand strategy and design firm. "Safeway Select operates on every shelf, in every aisle, on every end cap, right up against the other products."
Thus the shopper sees the blocky Safeway Select logo over and over again, on every shopping trip. Consequently, the brand quickly takes on a familiar feel. Plus, a positive experience with any product in the line predisposes the consumer to try the Safeway Select option when shopping in another category.
Toward the same end, H.J. Heinz Co. recently redesigned packaging for its cross-category Heritage line of products. The line includes more than 30 non-ketchup items, such as vinegar, pickles, relishes and sauces. Heinz's package redesign leverages the familiarity of the Heinz logo and keystone label shape, applying a unified design architecture to packaging for products across the product line.
The illustrations and background colors vary by category, but the common design architecture quickly communicates to consumers that these are Heinz products. Wallace Church Inc. (www.wallacechurch.com), a New York-based brand identity and package design firm, created the new packaging.
