Fruit cups have been notoriously associated with young children, often seen as a classic cafeteria lunchbox staple.  However, recent research about fruit consumption reported that adults, like children, were more likely to eat fruit if it was conveniently cut and peeled ahead of time.  One only had to look at the success of the McDonald’s apple slices to know that this is truth.

Given that, it made sense that a company well known for the fruit cups marketed to children would consider a change of approach.  That is exactly what Del Monte did.  They went back to the drawing boards to consider how they could slightly alter their product line, and the package printing to make it appeal to a new target market.

They did change the liquid that would be used to keep the fruit fresh and ready for consumption.  However, the product really hasn’t been altered.  These are still just cups of fruit.  It is the packaging products that saw the greatest change.  Gone was the classic, bright colored packaging.  In its place is a new, sleek, mostly black look that screams sophistication.  Suddenly, the fruit cup packaging looks office-friendly.

When working with your packaging designers, it is very important to consider how the package design will look on the shelves.  While you want your food pouches to stand out, you also want to be sure that your packaging design sends a clear message to your intended audience.  This is particularly true if you are trying to break into a new market, as Del Monte is attempting to do.  Even though this isn’t really a new product, they had to convince the intended market that it was something new, something bound to be the next food trend.   You may find that you have to accomplish the same task with your pouch packaging, and it can be done, if you approach the design in the right way.