Before & After: Tropicana Pure Premium

More divisive design from PepsiCo. (For anyone who missed it, the redesign of the Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Sierra Mist, and Mountain Dew -- or "mtn dew" -- drinks was somewhat controversial.) I don't think this is at quite the same level, but I've already heard a wide variety of opinions just offhand at casual, non-design-related gatherings.

This is the new look of Tropicana Pure Premium:

(Great photo courtesy of twatson @ Flickr - thanks!)

And this is the entire line Before:

There are also some good side-by-side shots on Flickr here and here.

Personally, I think the change is eye-catching -- literally, it caught my eye as I was rushing past the juice freezers on Sunday. I think because it's blocking well.

The #1 complaint I've heard is that it's harder to find the specific type of juice (Ruby Red, Lots of Pulp, Calcium, etc.) you're looking for. Someone also mentioned that the new version looks more "generic."

What are your thoughts?

Comments

[itsnick]

I actually really like this design change. This blocks extremely well in the cooler window and while first look for your version may be difficult to find, it is easier the second time around - and I'm not an OJ drinker. I appreciate the move from the actual Orange image, as the new design makes that look feel really dated.

[Steven Radney]

Kristan,

I was on vacation when I saw this for the first time. I did a triple take. After figuring out what it was, I purchased a carton. But, wow. How much more uninspiring can a carton of OJ be? It feels very generic and leaves a ton of functionality (communication, that is) on the table. The guy stocking the OJ had the same reaction.

It's a bad look for this (or any) economy.

[jinushaun]

While I think the new design is certainly 'prettier', the information design seems to be lacking. As a big consumer of juices, the new design makes it harder to pick out a specific type of juice. (For the record, I like pulp and avoid calcium fortified juices like the plague) The only real visual differentiation is in the colour strip at the top, which is quite small. The Pulp content copy is quite small as well.

[jcal248]

What's missing for me is the Tropicana brand 'popping' .. I personally thought this was store brand and did a double take. I think the previous design brought your eye to the brand. This one does not.

[Allison aka HaselBride]

I don't care for it at all. I think the original, while somewhat dated served their purpose very well. The information was presented in a clear hierarchy. That's the most important part! It was easy to see the pulp content, and less easy to see that it is pasteurized and all of the other generic oj info that doesn't matter as much to the buyer. The type and pulp content are most important. There are a lot of different sizes and weights for the type on the new one that clutter it up and don't make the hierarchy clear at all.

Actually, the more I study it, the more I dislike it. I would like to see others and how the color scheme is handled throughout the brand, I think that is so important for dictating what flavor/type you are buying.

[sayerje]

Tropicana lost its personality. It lost one of the more iconic and telegraphic images in packaging: the straw in the orange. This redesign is a great example of what NOT to do when asked to "modernize, contemporize, clean up" a design. I would predict a redesign in less than 6 months....

[katie]

I really like it. I think it's such an updated look and it's so clean. I disagree that it look generic, because most generic packaging (save the Target brand) are horrible and this is far from horrible. I think the only reason people are having a hard time getting the information from the package is because it is new and they aren't sure where to look yet. Once it's been around for a while, people will know, "Oh, look at the colored strip at the top and I'll know how much pulp."

[Jesse]

I completely agree with jcal248. I drink Tropicana, and will seek it out as my preferred OJ regardless, but going from a position of great brand recognition to a simplified brand literally turned on it's side makes no sense to me. The extremely recognizable orange with a straw in it is gone too.And I don't think it's prettier. I think it's boring. Even the picture lacks visual interest. What I get from this design is a question, does the "lots of pulp" version have pulp floating around in the glass?

[Skyehopper]

Yuck! I do not like, it looks boring and generic, it reminds me of the juice I used to get during lunch at school. Bring the old color, class, and image back.

[Roc314]

I'm not really diggin the redesign. There is some potential I think, maybe they should have placed the original straw inside the glass to keep some similarity from the original design as sayerje pointed out in an earlier post. Also the green type besides the name Tropicana looks like it was just placed on the container and not really incorporated into the design. It is headed in the right direction, just needs another go at it!

[Stu]

I would have reworked the design thinking while keeping the orange with straw image. That is such a classic and well known part of the identity to just be cast aside like that.

[Jeremy Kanter]

Ugh. Horrible typographic choice. The straw in the fruit and the distinguishing color around the cap are iconic. Another bummer of a redesign. Nothing about this says "pure premium" to me.

[Paul Lavender]

I like the new clean feel it looks like a lot UK packaging... which is a step forward in my opinion

[Amanda]

I was looking for the Tropicana on the shelf and completely passed this by thinking it was generic. I think the orange was so appealing, it made my mouth water to look at it. Yes, people will eventually figure out that this is Tropicana and how to select their pulp but this underwhelming design does not entice me to buy.

[Joseph Sites]

I was initially excited about this new design. Tropicana OJ is my breakfast drink of choice. I saw an ad in the sunday paper, among all of the grocery coupons. It showed the new design, and I just had to run out to the store and see it for my own eyes.

Unfortunately... something that was in the photo in the ad doesn't appear on the actual carton.

In the ad, the orange twist off cap was a half globe, and around the spout were several green leaves, thus making the cap look like an orange. but the actual box itself just has the standard cylinder cap instead. :(

Anyway... I like this new design.

[Justine]

While the redesign is clean and fresh I agree with what most everyone else has said that keeping the orange & staw image which I have always found clever and iconic would've been a better route. It does seem a bit bland

[Emily Charette]

I don't think the old design felt dated at all -- it feels classic. Besides, who wants "modernized" orange juice? The old design was iconic and mouthwatering, and they'd built so much equity and meaning into the orange/straw. And why on earth is it "modern" to simply show the product on the pack? The symbolism and metaphor of the straw stuck in an orange is much more forward-thinking than an over-obvious product shot. Fail.

[d-tom]

I feel that the original design managed to portray its freshness better than the new look. The new one to me gives it a "hotel buffet" feel that is usually syrup based juices. Maybe they just wanted to highlight the fact that it's pulp free!

[lh]

Makes me think of medicine. Dayquil, anyone?

[Tushar]

The earlier packaging was based on a brilliant idea - the straw in the orange - making it unmistakably Tropicana. I think that uniqueness has been taken away by the new packs.

[amanda mello]

I love the redesign, overall, but I agree that it is harder to find the variety of juice. I spent much longer than I normally would've trying to track down "some pulp" at my grocery store last weekend. I also do think it looks kind of "generic" but I think that's a lot of what I like about it!

[Prescott Perez-Fox]

This new design is rubbish. They threw away the boldness and playfulness that helped make Tropicana a heritage brand for so long.

Comparing the new and old logos, obviously there are very few similarities. The choices to change typeface change the overall personality and alter every aspect of the brand. And not for the better.

And compared to the samples I've purchased (including the one sitting on my desk right now), I profess that the above photo has been altered for saturation! The actual design is pale, and weak and lacks the sense of mass that comes from a full-force orange colour (as the previous versions had).

Thumbs. Down.

[Claire McGrath]

My first thought when I saw this new packaging was 'oh no!'I think this re-design ruins everything Tropicana has built up over its many years of success. This new design is very like Marks & Spensers (M&S) supermarkets design in the UK.I smell a new redesign in the next few months as this is not going to be welcomed by most of its OJ fans.

[Margo]

My husband bought some OJ for us the other night.... and I was shocked to see Tropicana's new packaging. I had to double take before I knew what brand it was. I am all about simple design... but I feel this redesign is blah and totally lacking. There's not much contrast... it just feels unfinished and blah to me... I'm glad to see I wasn't the only one feeling like the old packaging was better!

[Brian]

Ugly.

well, it is a clean design but no good for me. I had to buy orange juice for my wife one day while at Target. I easily saw the older Tropicana cartons and knew which one i would grab if I bought Tropicana but then thought I'd look at other brands and pricing and whether from concentrate or not. I "saw" the new design several times and thought it was an off-brand, store-brand, maybe a new Target look. When I actually read it was Tropicana, I was floored. The design was very low key, too low, and hard to distinguish between styles. I would probably buy less of it as it is harder to see and grab what I want.