Transforming the Fisher and Orchard Valley Harvest brands, John B. Sanfilippo & Son Inc. (JBSS) senior vice president of global marketing Howard Brandeisky and director of creative services Roseanne Christman collaborated on marketing and design investments that significantly improved both brands.
With the benefit of more than a quarter of a century of marketing experience, Brandeisky argues that the smart marketers have long left the older marketing methods that focused on “simply lecturing the consumers.” Instead, Brandeisky and marketers like him are thinking more about providing relevant content to their consumers that builds connections that lift markets.
Standing proud for simple innovation
“Probably our best example of that, is from our recipe nut business, which is the biggest part of the Fisher brand,” he explains. Working with the Food Network and celebrity chef Alex Guarnaschelli, JBSS developed recipe-focused content that offer more winsome communication between the brand and consumers. Guarnaschelli “brings a voice and a personality to the brand, and helps reach consumers who are interested in innovative fresh twists on everyday recipes,” Brandeisky explains. Using a combination of TV spots and social media, “consumers engage with Alex, engage with the brand, and get a great little recipe tip, but they also learn a little bit about what the Fisher brand is all about and that has been a great way for us to connect with consumers.”
Fisher recipe nuts packages are shown throughout these TV spots, which enables shoppers to quickly identify Fisher packages on retail shelves. To make those packages a prominent part of the commercials without resorting to forced presentations of the packages, the designs had to change.
“We decided to take the snack-standard package and put it in baking aisle and in the recipe aisle,” Christman says. “That put a face on Fisher recipe nuts right away! It was very innovative: Taking this existing pack style and decorating it with the Fisher recipes nuts.”
Brandeisky adds, “Sometimes when people think of innovation, they think they need to do something like reinvent the iPhone but I believe that you shouldn’t discount simple innovations. The key is innovation is to either address a consumer problem or delight your customers. In many ways, this packaging is a delighter.”
A win for the brand, retailer and consumer
The standup, resealable bag also addressed consumers’ desire for freshness. “If you buy a 60-oz. bag of walnuts and pecans, you may not get through that whole bag in your first use,” Brandeisky says. “Being able to reseal the bag is a great little delighter because it keeps the nuts fresh and makes the package easier for consumers to find in the pantry.
“Retailers also loved the standup bags because they were easier for them to merchandise,” he adds. “Because the product is more merchandisable, they can grow the category. So this innovation resulted in a win-win-win, and it started from a very simple idea.”
Taking the nut a little less seriously
Introduced less than a year ago, Fisher Nut Exactly snack bites is JBSS’ answer to specific consumer insights gathered by their internal and external teams. “People love nuts, and they feel great about eating them,” Brandeisky explains. “They also love popcorn, and they like both of those things even more if we dip them in something just a little indulgent, like chocolates, caramel and peanut butter.”
The brand name is a lighthearted description of the product, which is “not exactly” a nut offering and “not exactly” a confection. Expounding on the branding approach, Christman says, “We also took a fun approach visually by getting that product animation, using the action of popcorn to jump out at you.”
The brand identity and creative package design also charmed shoppers by showing deconstructed imagery of the snack bite, winning sales distribution in key retailers including Costco.
Fresh approach to premium
Combining a story-telling strategy with the deconstructed visual approach also helped JBSS’ Orchard Valley Harvest brand resonate with today’s natural foods fan. “We bought Orchard Valley Harvest in 2010,” Brandeisky recalls. “We knew we could transform it from a very small brand with distribution in just a few stores.”
Christman adds, “We now tell a story on the Orchard Valley Harvest package, using imagery that tells the story of the product origin. By stressing the natural goodness of our product versus the old black-and-gold design, we reminded consumers that our nuts are natural products grown from trees and harvested from groves.”
Together, Brandeisky and Christman transformed the Orchard Valley Harvest brand into one of the fastest growing brands in the produce nut section. That not only helps JBSS but its retail customers, such as Roudy’s Supermarkets. “If CPGs do our job and develop great products and brands, we help grow not just our business but we help grow our retail customers’ businesses by growing the category,” he opines. “There is a natural alliance there.”