Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Package Redesign

Dieline.com recently featured the package redesign of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese and it caught my attention because it was a successful refresh of an iconic brand in the wake of so many missteps by large companies with their rebrands of late. Remember all the negative stir the Tropicana orange juice box and Gap logo redesigns caused? Why did this rebrand work and the others not? It's very important when dealing with iconic brands with so much built-in recognition not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Keep the elements that are working and still service the brand, and update/refresh the ones that don't. Seems simple, but as we've seen, tough to execute.

You can see by the photos above that the old package is looking rather dated, but since it's been around so long consumers are used to seeing this box and a radical redesign would probably confuse and disorient them on the shelves (a la Tropicana). The designers wisely kept the blue gradient background, kept the KRAFT logo front and center, and left the centered product photo in the spoon, probably the 3 most recongnizable elements, and worked on subtle changes with the rest. The result is more fresh and modern, with a bit of a sophisticated edge on what's widely considered a very unsophisticated product. Consumers may notice that something about their favorite box has changed for the better, but not enough of it had changed to make them miss it on the shelves--the hallmark of a great package redesign.

-Stephanie Han

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