Little Potato Company rebrands

The Little Potato Company, the number one creamer potato company in North America, has unveiled a new brand look and feel. The new visual identity features modern, vibrant, fresh colours and a new logo. The rebrand also includes new familyfriendly packaging with updated product names, new brand characters, a refreshed website and social channels and a new digital ad campaign.

“We did extensive research to deeply understand our consumers, and what they care about is feeding their families with healthy, easy meals and finding moments of connection and joy together, said Angela Santiago, CEO and co-founder of The Little Potato Company. “We refreshed the brand with a new brand promise, to bring little moments of happiness to busy families. We bring that to life in every element of our relaunch, from the colourful logo, to our characters, and our heartwarming ad campaign.”

The new packaging is designed to stand out on shelf, with a clear window to spotlight the fresh, whole food within. The new packaging further brings the brand’s positioning to life by the grocer and are unpacked at the retail shelf. The stackability of these trays is important for saving freight but also protecting the cauliflower from bruising and discolouration which renders the vegetable unmarketable.

The trays have been used in other vegetable crops including: celery root, cabbage, peppers, zucchini, rhubarb, potatoes and snow peas.

Close to 50 per cent of Hillside Gardens’ 2022 cauliflower crop was packed in the new trays says Steven Kamenar, general manager Canada, Hillside Gardens, Bradford, Ontario.

“Under some harsh conditions – such as heavy rain or high humidity – we must pack in waxed cardboard,” says Kamenar. “Sometimes, we have a flush of vegetables in the field and we need to store longer than the usual 24-36 hours so we’ll use the waxed trays.” highlighting key differentiators, such as the easy prep with no need to wash or peel, and the short cooking time, in as little as five minutes, as well as cooking methods – such as air frying – to make preparation even easier. Additionally, it includes a family message from the brand’s father-and-daughter founders and sustainability messaging about the family farms. The refresh includes simplified product names with the prefix “little,” to reinforce the branding and highlight the size of potatoes, along with the colour/varietal or flavour.

From the retailer’s standpoint, the repulpable corrugated packaging is a positive in that it can be sold as an end-of-life revenue source rather a cost going to landfill. From Kamenar’s standpoint, he wants to experiment with packaging before new standards are mandated. A year’s notice, for instance, wouldn’t be enough time to transition.

“Celery is the next target,” says Kamenar. “But creating a tray for celery will be challenging because it has such a high water content and celery gets washed before going into the tray.” The packaging technology is improving all the time. Pulped paper naturally wants to absorb moisture but coatings can slow down that process. And some plant-sourced coatings are not as harsh as wax. The cost of these trays is about five to 10 per cent higher than waxed.

New brand characters are also featured on pack: the Spuddies are yellow, red and purple Little Potatoes who share messages such as “enjoy the little things,” “fresh from our family farms,” and “a little win for a busy night at home.”

Starting March 28th, the brand refresh will be supported by a digital ad campaign running across North America featuring heartwarming videos of the Spuddies sharing dinnertime wisdom. The new packaging is beginning to roll out on shelves now, and the refreshed website and social channels are live as of March 15.

Source: Little Potato Company March 15, 2023 news release