The true story of X-treme Fruit Bites ™
The Problem:
Last year, the fine folks at Brookside Fruit Company approached us to solve the unique branding and communication problems they were experiencing. Their fruit snack: X-Treme Fruit Bites ™ was under-performing in stores despite being an innovative technical breakthrough.
Brookside’s marketing team was struggling to inform people that X-Treme Fruit is completely different than every other garbage-laced snack you find in grocery stores. As a fruit snack, it contains so much fruit that it truly belongs in the produce section rather than the snack aisle. The sales team was passionate in their offering but outsiders just weren’t getting it.
Approach:
Our response was to carve a new message for their brand with the completely re-designed web presence at x-tremefruit.com.
Absorbing and understanding a whole product market and its audience is daunting. But that was our first step. We re-examined all existing market research, conducted competitive analysis, user studies and analyzed current brand materials. Many concepts and ideas were brainstormed throughout the process, some zany and some extremely compelling. (Click artifacts on the right to see what other ideas we came up with along the way!)
The Message:
Rather than simply list the benefits of the product, or discuss its technical merits, we decided to share stories of the company itself, its origins and connections to the community. Our design was focused on using fresh and wholesome imagery. The website emphasizes genuine connection to the community. Real images of actual youth sports teams that are sponsored by Brookside. Even the copy is written from the point-of-view of average frustrated mothers, looking for healthy alternatives for their kids.
Results
It's not simply a standard advertisement. The website is designed as a fully equipped communication tool. Brookside’s sales managers now proudly point users to the site on a daily basis in order to illuminate and clarify the unique advantages of X-Treme Fruit.
We continue to work with Brookside Fruit Company, producing sell-sheets, trade-show banners and other various print assets. With our assistance, X-treme Fruit is expanding at a rapid rate and have experienced an over 14% growth. It is now being sold in Produce Departments of grocery stores and is even an offering in many School Lunch Programs in school districts across the United States.
