Our product is a rebrand of the Pillsbury flour line for the American modern baker who wants to go above using preset baking mixes and be inspired by adding exploration and extravagance to an activity they enjoy.
Our focus on rebranding the Pillsbury flour packages is to reestablish its flour line and bring a coherence to its line in order to appeal to the target audience regardless of their dietary preferences. In addition, the new sleek design differentiates the Pillsbury brand from its competitors, which all still use traditional, outdated, cluttered packaging with large disconnects between their different types of flour.
By rebranding our flour with a simple design and one uniform packaging, we provide a reassurance to the consumer that our product is reliable and high in quality. We capture and retain a user’s intention both by removing some of the pain points of buying flour in a store (flour dust, it might spill on other items or the packaging could be damaged) and by connecting flour to the pleasurable and luxurious baking activity through refined design. We are also doing a rebranding to move away from some bad press involving an e coli outbreak of 2019. This is achieved by making “Pillsbury” refined by altering the look of the doughboy, the biggest features on the packaging which are both trusted and commonly known entities within American baking. By making the user excited about Pillsbury flour and “trying something new” they can reconnect to their love for baking in order to recalibrate themselves onto an activity they enjoy, aided by our luxury product
The Pillsbury Company has been a household name since its origins in 1872. Known for its high- quality grains and oats, Pillsbury became an American staple that continuously grew in popularity. By the 1950s Pillsbury expanded its line of products to include innovative baking products that made baking simpler and more accessible. With the launch of these new products, Pillsbury introduced the Pillsbury Doughboy and commercial campaigns that assisted in bringing in a wider customer audience and growing the company to be one of the largest American brands. Due to its great success, The Pillsbury Company was sold to General Mills in 2001 where its baking mixes and cookie doughs have become the focal point of the brand while an original product, flour, has been disregarded. As it currently stands, Pillsbury Best Flour line consists of 10 different flours with varying packaging, cluttered visual packaging design, and lackluster presence on the shelf.
After the General Mills accusation, Pillsbury has shifted to focus solely on baking and baked goods, even renaming its website Pillsburybaking.com. The iconic Pillsbury Doughboy no longer laughs as someone touches his belly or exclaims the memorable slogan “Nothing says Lovin’ like Something from the Oven!” Instead, Pillsbury has shifted away from novelty marketing to embracing creative wholesome homemade baking seen through its social media pages. In doing so, Pillsbury has demonstrated that the consumer can do more than Slice and Bake or use a baking mix to create memorable and delicious desserts, but instead can be a pastry chef creating their own pastry masterpiece. By trying to open up the idea of Pillsbury as the bake goods company for any type of baker, the commodity good, flour, needs to be rebranded to fit into Pillsbury’s current model.
In transforming a commodity good, first the usability of the product needed to be reevaluated. From many user experiences, flour is often seen as a messy product that gets everywhere. In order to reduce the amount of flour spillage and limit oxidation, a seal tie has been attached to the top of the package so to reseal the flour after it is opened. This will assist in the behavioral experience with the flour where it reduces mess and extends the flour’s shelf life. Additionally, new minimalistic packaging has been implemented to stand out amongst other flour packages and to broadcast to the consumer the new wave of Pillsbury. The Pillsbury Best Flour line has been changed so that all flour is uniformly packaged with specific changes to the chef’s hats that denote the difference in flour. By changing the package so that the varying flours have a similar base packaging, it presents the idea that all of the flour is of the same quality and it is a reliable line. The new packaging allows for a pleasurable visceral experience with the flour where a baker feels current and understood as a serious baker. Through these design shifts, the passion of homemade baking can be reignited for the consumer and make them feel a greater sense of accomplishment once their oven timer goes off since they crafted something on their own. The reflective nature of baking a new treat will continue to drive the consumer to purchase Pillsbury Best Flour habitually.
User Journey Map:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1nuArMeSOIcKsl_wfQcOFcFUnKWlx_ppu_ELz7tT-XvM/edit?usp=sharing
Presentation:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1PjBPcaWyHwxSXHQAIKoLI-z6xUwABAE6_AVkPn4fM7w/edit?usp=sharing
I really like how minimalistic and uncluttered the rebranding is! I remember someone in the group mentioning a DIY baking kit in class a few weeks ago—I would personally love to see this idea come to life. There seems to be a saturation of DIY meal kits in the market, but none that specific cater to people who want to make desserts. Baking can be a fun social activity, but people who don’t cook a lot may not have the ingredients to make cookies/cakes on hand, and it’s not very practical for them to buy large quantities of flour, sugar, etc. Even though a rebranding may sway existing bakers to purchase Pillsbury over a competitor, baking kits could potentially also attract non-bakers to purchase Pillsbury products as well.
The minimalistic design was super attractive & I really appreciated the use of little icons on the bag fronts to denote flour type … My only thought was to maybe draw more attention to the new re-sealing mechanism as new feature of the brand the website since this, to me, significantly enhanced the behavioral appeal of the product.
I think the idea is very interesting and that the tie at the top to help with flour spillage is such a great idea! But going forward, it would be a good idea to have a more visible difference between gluten and gluten-free flours so gluten-free consumers will be more likely to notice and then buy it. Perhaps change the background color or other major features instead of having a light design inside the doughboy’s hat depending on flour type. Also, more vibrant packaging would help it stand out against competitors.
Overall I really liked the minimalistic design that makes this flour much more aesthetically appealing! I also loved the smaller details, such as the slightly modified icons to differentiate between different types of flour, and I think the tie at the top was a really smart move — it’s such a simple addition to make but for some reason flour packaging continues to be really messy. I know you guys wanted to move toward a simpler design that is easy for anyone to view and pick up, but I do still think it would be interesting to keep with the tradition of providing recipes. Although they might have initially cluttered the website, perhaps you could still include them in a more organized way, since that would appeal a lot to people who want to bake at home but maybe aren’t sure where to start. Keeping in line with you strategy and branding, you could focus on DIY recipes that are very simple and easy to follow, geared for any average baking person.
First of all, the packaging looks so great! Also, I love the resealable package – I don’t know why flour packages don’t already have this. I think the packaging could also have a “fun” element added to it to increase engagement (e.g. a creative recipe on the back, especially for more specialized flours).
I really liked your idea to redesign flour, especially through the marketing. As you showed in your presentation, a more minimalist packaging will really make the flour stand out on a grocery store shelf. However, going forward, I wonder if there’s a way to make the product itself different, and not just the packaging. I like the idea of the seal to prevent mess, and I think there are other ways to counter the pain point of flour being such a mess to use. Maybe if you made the packaging more sturdy, so it’s less likely to fall apart, people might be drawn to the brand more. Additionally, if the top of the seal could come with a funnel that allows bakers to easily transfer the flour into the measuring cup, you might be able to sell the new and improved Pillsbury flour as a new product, and not just new packaging.
Love the minimalist design! You’ve done a great job in drawing an elegant picture for both flour and the brand, and associate them with enjoyable homemade baking experience. The new packaging with a seal tie does maximize the convenience during purchasing and using the product. An interesting observation is that people tend to associate such simplicity in design with high-end products or smaller groups of customers, while the intention seems to be attracting more potential buyers. So the strategy of your concept is probably one thing I wish to be clarified further.
First of all, I really love the minimalistic design of the new flour package. I think that you are totally on the right track here, as many brands seem to be shifting this way. However, one thing that stuck out to me was that it is quite difficult to tell between the different types of flour. The packages are all designed in exactly the same way, which while I think works well from a minimalism standpoint, I’ve found that when products are like this in real life I’ll grab the wrong one because I miss that there’s something that distinguishes the products from one another. Thus, if you were to actually make this product it might be a good idea to include a small graphic or image for each type of flour (such as a few almonds for almond flour) or make the wording of the flour type stick out more so that customers don’t get frustrated by accidentally buying the wrong product.
As an avid baker, I’d love this! I would definitely be convinced to buy this brand over others just to have the minimalistic aesthetic in my pantry. Adding onto Vivian’s point about the tradition of providing recipes, it may be cool to add a tech-y feature such as a barcode you scan with your phone camera that redirects you to the webpage on the website with the specific recipe (or a separate app). This could be a cool way of increasing engagement. The scan/barcode also wouldn’t disrupt the minimalist appeal.
I think that the visual design of this is incredibly pleasing and there is huge potential for upscaling (there are so many recipes out there!). It would be cool to have seasonal/holiday packages as well and there is absolutely a market for this. As someone who doesn’t bake often, I think that this would make the idea of making something so much more accessible.