Dive Brief:
- Van Leeuwen, a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based ice cream company, redesigned its packaging to be more Instagram-friendly and saw a rise in social media engagement, according to Quartz.
- The new packaging and design, combined with an increased distribution and merchandising scheme, saw sales for the company rise by 50% since last fall.
- Mast Brothers, a Brooklyn-based chocolate shop, said it attracts 80% of new customers from Instagram.
Dive Insight:
In today’s digitally focused world, food and beverage manufacturers understand that it’s important to connect to consumers by social media because staying engaged helps them get their brands talked about and remain relevant.
Social media acts as a word-of-mouth accelerant for brands — enabling both positive and negative brand sentiments to travel faster and reach more people than ever. Additionally, consumers are looking more and more for authenticity and personal stories over traditional advertising, which makes influencers — particularly social media-savvy millennials — so powerful.
What Van Leeuwen did with redesigning its packaging wasn’t an attempt to increase its social media awareness, but it worked out well for the company. However, sometimes making a drastic switch to a package design could have consequences, as Hain Celestial found out when it changed the iconic design of its Celestial Seasonings tea boxes. Facing consumer backlash, the manufacturer quickly switched back to the old design.
A design change is costly and it could actually have a negative impact on consumers who are sometimes afraid of change and like familiarity in their products. Any company considering doing this — whether in an effort to improve social media engagement or not — should test it out first before making a full-on commitment.