Dole revamps salad packaging

Packaged salads from Dole will be sporting a new look starting in November.

The Westlake Village, Calif.-based company had last refreshed the graphics on the bags in 2009, said Bil Goldfield, director of corporate communications for Dole.

“Consumer preferences have changed,” Goldfield said. “It was time to retire the graphics that served us well for eight years. The stopping power of our sideways copy and the information-packed salad guide satisfied consumer needs for a long time.”

Among the changes are a larger viewing window, bright solid colors at the top of each bag, larger font, and illustrations showing the ingredients in each salad.

In developing the new look for the bags, Dole did quantitative and qualitative research, both with consumers — even extending to one-on-one interviews — and with their customers and others. Some of the key feedback was to make the product more visible and to simplify the graphics.

Taking that feedback into account, Dole created an updated package that Goldfield said has gotten positive reviews from its customers as well as from shoppers.

“Consumers found that it was easy to distinguish among our salad segments, and that they could find the salad they were looking for very quickly,” Goldfield said. “They thought the jewel-tone colors of the bags complemented the lettuce colors and that they stood out well on the supermarket shelf.”

About two weeks before the new packaging begins shipping Nov. 1, Dole will be shipping packages with Star Wars characters on them.

“Partnering with Star Wars on our packaging is an exciting opportunity to reach across all consumer groups and give them a chance to bring part of the franchise into their homes,” Goldfield said. “If by partnering with Star Wars we can encourage someone to pick up a bag of salad or other Dole produce instead of a less healthy choice, so much the better.”