Tropicana's 2009 Packaging Redesign: What Every Packaging Project Must Protect

Tropicana's 2009 packaging redesign is a classic warning for anyone who sells a product in a pack. It's also a reminder that packaging is more than decoration: it's how shoppers find, recognise and trust a product in seconds.

What happened

In early 2009, Tropicana replaced its familiar image of an orange with a straw in it with a tall glass of juice. According to The Branding Journal's account, customers complained that the new cartons looked generic. Between 1 January and 22 February 2009, unit sales of Tropicana Pure Premium fell about 20%, while rivals Florida's Natural and Minute Maid saw double-digit unit growth over the same period. The company went back to its original pack design. A later Fortune article revisited the episode when the brand again faced criticism over a bottle redesign in 2024.

Figures for the cost of the redesign and the exact timing of the reversal vary between sources, so treat those details with caution. The main point isn't in dispute: a packaging change that removed the cues shoppers relied on was followed by a sharp fall in sales, and the old design returned.

Why packaging redesigns go wrong

• They remove the cue people use to find the product. Shoppers don't read the shelf. They spot colour, shape and a familiar image.
• They make the product look like everyone else. If a pack could belong to any brand in the category, it loses its advantage.
• They're judged in a presentation, not on a shelf. A design that looks smart on a screen can disappear next to competitors.
• They're launched without testing. See our guide to testing a rebrand before you launch it.

What to protect in a packaging project

1. Your distinctive assets. The colour, image or shape people link with you.
2. Findability. Can a regular customer spot the product in two seconds?
3. Variants and range logic. Flavours and sizes should be easy to tell apart.
4. The brand story. Packaging is often the main way people meet a brand.

How to do it better

Test new packs side by side with the old one and with competitors, in a realistic shelf set-up and as a small online thumbnail. Ask what people notice first and what they think the product is. Our packaging design process and packaging design brief template show where testing fits, and the packaging design examples guide shows what works.

If you're planning a pack change and want it to protect what already sells, book a free brand consultation or see our packaging design agency London page.

Sources

• What to learn from Tropicana's packaging redesign failure, The Branding Journal
• Tropicana's bottle redesign backlash, Fortune

Cover photo by Piero Nigro on Unsplash.