wonka brand
As the design director and creative lead for the CBX office in Larkspur, CA I was tasked with the challenge of revitalizing and "aging up" one of the world's most popular and beloved candy brands. The FDA was putting pressure on companies like Nestlé for aiming towards too young of a demographic with their confection products; as a response to a rise in adolescent obesity and diabetes in the US.
previous brand identity and package designs of the three leading sub-brands
Given the lack of a clearly defined branding system, our challenge was to develop an evolutionary yet flexible design that clearly positioned Wonka as the parent brand. This new system needed to appeal to an older more tween to young adult demographic while maintaining the key visual equities of some of America's favorite candy brands.
Our research and pre-design phase consisted of exhaustive competitive audits, along with market and trend research targeted around the tween to young adult demographic. Our solution came about through the analysis and review of mood boards that presented four thematic directions embodying the trends and themes which were most applicable to the Wonka brand.
Based on the client preference for the 70’s Revival theme, we began the initial design phase; exploring the Wonka brand identity and three lead packaging SKUs.
four designs that were taken into consumer focus group research
new redesigned identity and package designs of the three leading sub-brands
The visual aesthetic that permeates the Wonka brand redesign is best described as "product characteristics". For example, the new LaffyTaffy background pattern visually suggests pulling and stretching much in the way the product itself behaves. This redesign was so successful for Nestlé that it was used as the benchmark on how to redesign a product line; company wide.
before/after comparison: Sweetarts
before/after comparison: LaffyTaffy
before/after comparison: Nerds
hero shot of the three lead brands
several of the secondary brands we designed