Products may look too good to be true, but Sola’s packages come clean: It has 75% fewer calories than sugar
The Story
Health & Happiness Agency LRXD was chosen to design packaging for Sola, a sugar substitute that is being introduced on store shelves as an additive and a line of low-carb and low-sugar branded products. Sola—which is made out of sweeteners found in fruits, vegetables and dairy products—looks, tastes, measures, browns and caramelizes just like sugar, but it contains 75% fewer calories and zero net carbs.
Sola ice cream, yogurt, smoothies, bread, granola and granola bars hit shelves at Harris Teeter in the Southeast and Hy-vee stores in the Midwest in early March.
The Challenge
Sola was developed in 2012 by Ryan Turner, a private chef from Great Britain who’s known for creating healthy, delicious, low-carb meals and desserts. Sola has a low-glycemic response, replaces sugar gram for gram, retains its structure in baking and has no aftertaste, so it’s a great substitute for sugar in recipes.
However, Sola and Turner aren’t well known in the U.S., and the low-glycemic products, frankly, look too good to be true! LRXD needed to convey on packaging that these delicacies were also diet-friendly.
The Solution
The bright red packaging is offset by a swatch of complementary color—a different hue for every SKU—and cutaway windows give shoppers a peek at the products. Sparse expository copy in white relays the most pertinent information on the front of each package. Sola Bread, for instance, is delightfully seeded and contains 80 calories, 4 net carbs, 6 grams of protein and 50% less sugar than the average whole wheat slice.
“We used the angled color blocking and transparent windows to create something eye catching and iconic at shelf,” says creative director Andy Dutlinger. “It was also essential to communicate to shoppers that these products allow them to cut out sugar without sacrificing the taste they’ve always loved.”
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