Tropicana Dumps New Package

Posted on February 26, 2009 | Permalink

By Lane Casteix

Pepsico's Tropicana is already dumping its new package designed by the Arnell Group. Here is Peter Arnell defending the design.

Tropicana reverted back to their original design with its iconic orange and straw graphic. They did retain the Arnell-designed "squeeze" cap closure on the old package, which was, in my opinion, the only good thing about the new package worth keeping. (At least they got something for their money.)

Peter Arnell charges big bucks for his designs. Pepsi paid them handsomely ("somewhere north of $1,000,000") to reinvent the Pepsi logo, the results of which Arnell described as "Breathtaking!" Many in the industry don't quite see it that way. If you want to see how Arnell sees his work you can download a PDF of their description of the process here. I have seen "puffery" many times before but this is really puffery, to use a polite term.

Package design is a sophisticated process that should be reserved for professionals, but as this article suggests, let the buyer beware.

UPDATE: What should Tropicana have done? Did they miss a golden marketing opportunity? This writer thinks so. You decide.