Green Joy rebrands its salad bars to expand appeal, underscore eating healthy can be joyful
“The bars were Aunt Dottie’s Green Joy, but what we found is the name geographically segmented our appeal a little bit, and it focused more attention on the company’s brand name, instead of what the bars had to offer,” Jenny Cawthon told to FoodNavigator-USA at Natural Products Expo West, where the redesign was unveiled.
She explained that while Aunt Dottie in the name appealed to consumers in the South or in smaller communities that valued the idea of a real person – Cawthon’s mom – behind the brand, the inclusion felt “a little bit antiquated” to consumers on the coasts.
“A lot of the feedback we were getting from people on the West Coast and different geographic regions was that there was an association with Aunt Jemima,” and created a barrier of people questioning how healthy the bars could really be “if it is my aunt that has blue hair and wears Velcro shoes,” Cawthon said.
Simplifying the name to Green Joy also better communicated the brand’s effort to make healthy eating joyful and simple, “and not having them be mutually exclusive,” Cawthon said.
She explained that the bars pack two servings of vegetables into a leather-like bar that unlike fruit leathers have very little sugar. The bars also make eating healthy on-the-go easy, Cawthon said.
“I think people of all ages and demographics find it is really hard to eat healthy when we are always on the go. We live in a want it now, finish it yesterday kind of work, and how we consumer food is no different. So, what we wanted to be able to do is providing something that was not the manufactured green powders that are everywhere today, but that was like a leafy green salad that could be eaten on the go,” she said.
The starring role of the vegetables is reinforced with large backlit photos of beets, spinach and other greens on a stark white background that sends a message of “fresh, clean ingredients and foodie flavors,” Cawthon said.
The package also prominently features an image of a green leaf that is stylized to look like “two happy lips,” which suggests how the product will make consumers feel after they eat it, she added.
The company also replaced the previous descriptor that the bars were “snackable” with “pressed,” as a way to better communicate what is inside of the package, she said.
“We still feel like it is a snackable salad bar, but at the same time when you offer the word ‘pressed’ it helps manage expectations about what the product will be when you open it. It tells the consumer the bar will be a little flatter,” and it gives consumers more authority over how and when they eat the bars, she explained.
The bars versatility lends it to multiple facings
Given the bar’s versatility, retailers are stocking it in different locations – helping consumers to see the many ways it can be eaten, Cawthon said.
“When we soft launched in the summer of 2017, we had our point-of-purchase boxes” that helped communicate the product was a healthy grab-and-go convenience food, but the company also had larger boxes in the breakfast bar set, which sent the message that this was a healthy snack or meal replacement, she explained.
“Some retailers even stock us in the salad bar, which is great synergy: salad, salad bar,” and it underscores what is in the package, she added.
Other retailers are stocking the bars in better-for-you snack sets that help bring traditional center store items to the perimeter of the store, she also noted.
The company also is working to get the bars placed in schools and universities as a healthy snack for students, Cawthon said. She noted: “Kids love these bars. My 8-year-old has kids come up to her in class and say they love the bars her mom makes,” and so we want to make it easier for them to find the bars.
