A research effort behind the rebranding of Naturipe Farms studied the attitudes of nearly 4,000 participants in the U.S. and Canada to gain consumer insights, company officials said.
The five-phase study involved soliciting feedback and consumer reactions on packaging, product architecture, brand perception, consumer shopping triggers and motivations while in stores, and visual brand cues, according to company officials.
Naturipe Farms’ rebranding aims to highlight the brand’s heritage and introduce the brand story to younger demographics, according to a news release.
“Over the past year, we conducted a combination of quantitative and qualitative market research studies to determine what millennials and the next generation of berry-buyers wanted from their brands,” CarrieAnn Arias, vice president of marketing at Naturipe Farms, said in the release. “With these younger customers poised to be the largest consumer group in history, it was important for us to ensure Naturipe Farms’ brand refresh spoke to this demographic.”
She said it was important to ask customers directly about all aspects of the Naturipe brand. “We want Naturipe Farms to be relevant to berry-buyers for the next 100 years, and we committed to listening to them.”
Naturipe Farms’ research showed that consumers’ purchase-decision drivers were based on “value,” which for produce encompassed a combination of the quality of the produce (freshness, look, and smell) and its price, followed closely by brand trust, according to the release. With millennials and Gen Z spending between $270 to $300 a month on groceries — a key finding — the logo on the packaging may be just as important as the product it contains, company officials said.
“Through the company’s market research, the consumers have spoken, and Naturipe Farms’ investments in innovation and R&D going forward will help ensure the brand evolves with changing customer priorities,” Arias said in the release. “With these combined efforts, the company intends to make the next hundred years every bit as successful as the previous hundred.”
