Redesigns can cause serious harm to businesses. New research from Adelaide University explores what brands should consider when modernising their packaging.
“The study shows that successful redesign depends on increasing consumers’ perceived modernity without undermining recognisable brand cues,” explains Dr William Caruso from Adelaide University’s Ehrenberg-Bass Institute.
“If a redesign removes distinctive visual elements such as colours, logos or layout that consumers associate with the brand, familiarity can decline, weakening purchase intent.”
Modernisation is one of the most common objectives when companies redesign packaging, with 58 per cent of marketers reporting it as the main purpose of their most recent redesign. Yet Dr Caruso says businesses should not redesign packaging simply because modernisation is fashionable.
“Instead, firms should modernise when pack likeability has measurably declined, while protecting Distinctive Brand Assets that help consumers recognise and find the brand. The findings suggest companies should use research to track likeability, test brand identification via Distinctive Asset Testing, and rebuild familiarity through communication if major redesigns are introduced.”
Because consumers often rely on visual cues to identify products quickly in busy retail environments, maintaining recognisable elements is critical to helping shoppers locate and recognise products on the shelf.
The study surveyed primary household shoppers in the United States and the United Kingdom, and was published in Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services.
It aligns with existing research that consumer responses are shaped by recognition and judging packaging holistically rather than on isolated cues alone, yet it is among the first studies to investigate modernisation in packaging redesign in a more integrated way, linking explicitly to familiarity, likeability, and purchase intent.
The study builds on Dr Caruso’s ongoing research at Adelaide University’s Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, where packaging effectiveness and brand recognition are central concerns when redesigns occur.
“I was interested in this topic because packaging redesign happens all the time, and brands often assume that making a pack look more modern ‘with an improved look’ will automatically improve how consumers respond,” he says.
“What I found worth investigating was the idea that redesigning the graphics on packaging can weaken familiar cues by changing what people use to recognise and choose a brand, so it was important to understand how these constructs relate.
“I believe the topic is extremely important because redesign decisions involve substantial investment, and if those changes are handled poorly, brands risk damaging recognition and performance.”
The paper touches on two classic, well-known redesign cases that illustrate the risk of modernisation.
When Tropicana in 2009 changed its classic branding of an orange with a straw, replacing it with a glass of juice, sales decreased by 20 per cent (USD 33 million) within one month, prompting the brand to revert to the previous design.
More recently in 2021, Bahlsen adopted a contemporary redesign that received significant industry acclaim, including a global D&AD award, yet sales declined by approximately 12 per cent, and the brand lost category leadership in several markets.
Dr Caruso says future research should explore more closely how overall pack perceptions are formed, while also isolating the effects of specific packaging elements such as logos, structure, materials, colour and typography.
Research across broader cultures and more diverse samples, as well as interdisciplinary work between design and marketing, would further improve understanding of packaging effectiveness.
The results offer valuable insights for marketers and brand managers navigating the challenge of staying contemporary without sacrificing brand recognition.
“If you must modernise, then do so under the right conditions and without compromising what currently works well for the brand,” Dr Caruso says.
“The most successful redesigns are those that update the look and feel of packaging while still protecting the distinctive elements that consumers know and trust.”
Media contacts:
Dr William Caruso, Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, Adelaide University. Email: will.caruso@adelaide.edu.au
Lara Pacillo, Media Officer, Adelaide University. Mobile: +61 403 659 154. Email: lara.pacillo@adelaide.edu.au