Am I Going (Grape-)Nuts?
2008 February 28
Walking down the cereal aisle today, I observed three distinctly different box designs for Grape-Nuts Trail Mix Crunch. A week earlier, I had noticed only two of of the three and assumed that they were transitioning in a new look. But today, three entirely different boxes were on the shelf, each one containing exactly the same product. (Yes, I compared the ingredients and nutrition “facts” tables.)
This, despite claims that the middle product had a “great taste and lighter crunch” (always an important factor, no?), while the cereal on the right had “MORE! Raisins & Almonds,” a statement which, one could argue, does not make any particular claim due to its broken grammatical structure. It will form associations in people’s minds, just as mentioning “Iraq” and “Osama bin Laden” in the same breath will, but only because people are lazy, and not because of any truthful or meaningful claim. The box on the left does not mention Grape-Nuts at all.
Can anyone suggest a reasonable explanation for this? Could they be market-testing multiple designs to see which one sells best?
Have you ever looked at how milk is represented on cereal boxes? Next time you are in the grocery store make note of how the stylized milk is represented on each box. It’s strange how un-milk-like it is.
I am afraid I can’t answer your question about the 3 styles of Grape-Nut boxes. You should run a taste test to see if the perception of design has any effect flavor satisfaction.
Comment by jason — 2008 March 01 @ 12:27 pm
There are two things going on here. First, the cereal has gone through changes over the past few months (more raisins & almonds) and the graphics changed at the same time. Second, something happened in the store stocking and rotation of product. (Older packaging should sell through before second- and third-generation packaging appears on the shelf.) By the way, there is also a new Cranberry Vanilla variety that is really good.
Comment by Heath — 2008 March 05 @ 11:15 am