I don't know where I've been. It appears that Tropicana has gotten a makeover, and it's one that was revealed a few months ago, but is finally hitting shelves this year, according to Serious Eats. (I haven't spotted them yet.)
How bland and terrible! As Brand New said, "This new packaging feels, at best, like a discount store brand with what looks like, again, at best, rights-managed stock photography if not outright royalty free." I understand that things get modernized. But really -- I don't think Tropicana's old logo was particularly old. But even if it was, they're about the only widespread brand where you have the chance of sometimes getting orange juice that almost tastes as it it was made that day. (It's rare, but when it happens, it's divine!) That should count for something.
Now ... It just looks terrible. It's hard to visually differentiate, but more importantly: It looks CHEAP! If I hadn't drank Tropicana most of my life, I'd never, ever pick that up over other brands with that packaging. Yet another reason why Pepsi is evil, although their re-do (also in the SE link above) looks a heck of a lot better than my beloved Tropicana.
What do you think?
1-16-2009 @11:24AM JackReacher said... I agree with you. I first saw the new look after receiving a delivery order from Peapod. I was ready to call the guy back, I thought they had substituted the juice I ordered with a generic brand. (And my account specifies no substitutions.)
It is a streamlined look, but as you stated it looks cheap and difficult to differentiate, particularly in the bright lighting of the grocer's refrigeration section.
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1-16-2009 @11:32AM ping121608 said... looks like the pepsi redesign
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1-16-2009 @11:30AM Carney said... I totally agree. The straw in the orange was iconic, including with the sound effect in the ads. The fools, throwing away a central uniquely valuable differentiating element in their brand. And probably did so on the advice of some high priced consultant.
And the Pepsi makeover is awful too. They hit the nail on the head with their just prior look. Nothing smart or good ever lasts.
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1-16-2009 @11:41AM brooke said... I completely agree with you. I saw the new packaging for the first time over the weekend and hated it immediately. It is impossible to differentiate between varieties with just a quick glance, which annoys me to no end, since I can only drink the low acid variety. I will miss the orange and it's straw...
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1-17-2009 @3:17AM vmammone said... I don't pay much attention to packaging. If I see something new, I'll try it and if I like it, I'll buy it again. But then I prefer a hole-in-the-wall dive cafe in a scary section of town to an elegant restaurant.
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1-16-2009 @2:07PM Adam Fields said... It took me a few minutes to even realize what was pictured on the box. This is just outright awful packaging.
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1-16-2009 @2:18PM Canadianfoodiegirl (formerly ABT) said... Re you not seeing them yet:
Maybe they haven't come to Canada yet. I haven't noticed them either, but I haven't been paying attention. Now I will.
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1-16-2009 @2:39PM Kate said... I agree with number 5. It is awful, yes, and will be harder to read on the shelf, but honestly, I don't much care. I don't buy for the packaging and don't think I'm overly influenced by it. If anything, I've learned not to be deceived by overly elaborate packaging and "eye candy" illustrations (e.g., anything in the J. Peterman catalog) which are better than the product. The juice hasn't changed, that's all that matters to me, in the end.
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1-16-2009 @2:43PM Astin said... For the briefest moment I thought "at least the top is the same"... but then realized that all the caps are the same colour. That was the quickest way to differentiate in a refrigerator shelf full of Tropicanas. Green lid = homestyle, orange = no pulp, cream = grovestand, etc..
They've obviously taken one image of the glass and photoshopped it to different colours. Talk about cheap.
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1-16-2009 @2:52PM Pyrofish said... I'm a Florida's Natural (some pulp) guy. Tropicana just doesn't equal it. When I saw the new carton, I did have to stop and look and see what it was. The new look reminds me of some of the new health-food-style packaging. Like Vitamin water and items like that. Since it was the first thing I thought of, maybe that's what they were going for. I'm still not going to drink it, but it did make me look twice.
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1-16-2009 @3:45PM Erin said... Tropicana is owned by Pepsi, so this was probably part of the Pepsi redesign. (http://nancyfriedman.typepad.com/away_with_words/2009/01/guess-who.html)
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1-16-2009 @4:07PM David Millar said... I like the new logo text, but the rest of the redesign is awful. If anything, they should have gone with more green instead of more white.
I'm more of a Simply Orange guy anyway though, as I like reusing their plastic containers when making KoolAid or fruit punch or whatever else I feel like making without dirtying up a pitcher.
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1-16-2009 @5:20PM doodoolemonque said... Since Tropicana is a brand I would never buy, this matters little to me. Tropicana is junk juice made from concentrate. Why anyone would drink this in this day and age is beyond me. Not only is as expensive as brands not made from concentrate, it has a reduced nutritional content, as a result. Let them sell it in a brown paper bag. Why should anyone care?
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1-16-2009 @4:52PM Karen said... I like it. It looks clean, light and healthy.
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1-17-2009 @12:47PM Andrew said... @ comment #13: Tropicana is not from concentrate. Your little rant is not only worthless, but it also makes false claims. "it has a reduced nutritional content." What? Get your facts straight before you make assumptions and spew your slanderous drivel.
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1-17-2009 @1:23PM doodoolemonque said... All the Tropicana juice sold in the markets where I have lived, including Florida, are labeled "from concentrate." The process of reconstituting orange juice requires repasteurization. This process destroys a certain amount of the natural nutrition found in oranges. When juice is available in most all markets, year round, that is not from concentrate, it is silly to shortchange one's own nutrition, or that of one's children. The taste issue is subjective, perhaps, but I have always preferred the taste of orange juice which has not been pasteurized at all requiring I squeeze my own. When juice oranges are not available, I prefer the more wholesome product, that is, not from concentrate.
Perhaps the "junk juice" reference was excessive, but that is the way I view it in terms of my own consumption. I do not like diminished products. There have also been issues with Tropicana over adding "natural flavors" which do not come from oranges, while claiming "nothing added, nothing taken away."
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1-17-2009 @2:02PM doodoolemonque said... By the way, if we're going to get "facts straight," it would be libel, not slander, as libel refers to the written word and slander refers to the spoken word.
And perhaps, in reading my last post, I was not sufficiently clear. It is the act of pasteurization which destroys nutrients. That is why orange juice ends up being less nutritious, as it is pasteurized twice, once when first processed into concentrate, and again when reconstituted and packaged. Additionally, flavor is lost with each heating. These are the reasons I choose "from concentrate" juice only as a last resort, and as such a juice, eschew Tropicana.
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1-17-2009 @4:20PM Ashley said... Like Commenter #1 I also first saw it when I got my peapod order. I'm not sure how I feel about the new packaging.. I'm so used to the old style.
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1-17-2009 @4:37PM Monika said... doodoolemonque -- Are you sure you didn't miss the "never"? In 30 years, I've never seen a carton that says it's from concentrate, but every one says "never."
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/120/305979668_f60b63c3c6_o.jpg
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1-17-2009 @11:11PM Andrew said... doodoolemonque, are you still living in the Stone Age? Flash pasteurization was invented decades ago, and has been proven to neither affect the nutritional value of the orange juice, nor the taste.
Do some research before you make preposterous claims.
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