Media Contact: Heather West, (612) 724-8760, heatherwest@earthlink.net

Compass Design and Kemps/Marigold Foods Redesign Chocolate Milk Packaging to Appeal to Expanded Audience

MINNEAPOLIS (March 21, 2002)-Chocolate milk isn't just for kids anymore. What once was considered a drink of childhood has now become one of the nation's most popular beverages. According to Time magazine, sales of flavored milks-more than 90 percent of them chocolate-rose 18 percent in 2000[1] , with much of the growth coming from adults tired of soda and looking for a healthy change.

When Kemps/Marigold Foods approached Minneapolis based-Compass Design, Inc. about redesigning the packaging for their line of chocolate milks, Compass knew that its design would have to reach beyond moms buying for their kids in the grocery store: it would need to resonate with adults shopping in grocery and convenience stores as well.

"It was a pretty complex design scenario," says Julia Hemphill, Compass partner/sales. "We needed to keep the package's appeal to moms and kids who like the 'treat' factor of chocolate milk, yet still appeal to health conscience adults looking for something different. We wanted a 30-year-old blue collar worker to be just as comfortable picking up and purchasing the product as a mother of three."

As if creating an image that would appeal to a broad audience base weren't challenge enough, several other factors came into play in the design process. The design would need to work across all of Kemps chocolate milk's container shapes and sizes, and also be as effective in convenience stores and high school vending machines as on grocery store shelves.

"We began by looking at Kemps chocolate milks as a whole product line and asking ourselves what design elements would achieve our goal of reaching moms, kids, teens and adults," says Mitch Lindgren, Compass partner/designer. "We felt that all our audiences would react positively to seeing the actual product, but only the pint size container was transparent.

So we created an overhead image of a glass of chocolate milk topped with bubbles, and added the red-and-white striped straw for visual impact and a touch of fun."

To complement the product image, Lindgren hand-illustrated lettering to add to the fun and whimsical appeal of the chocolate milk line. Additionally, as then current FDA regulations restricted the use of the word "premium" on chocolate milk containers, the decision was made to use the gold Kemps logo on the products, which typically adorns only Kemps' premium items. "We felt that using the gold premium logo would help consumers understand that Kemps was still using the same high-quality ingredients as it always had," explains Lindgren. The FDA has since eased it restrictions.

The lettering, image and logo were then laid over a color block-red for regular chocolate milk and green for lowfat-which in turn was placed over a continuous image of multi-colored chocolate brown tinted swirls. The whole milk chocolate milk packages also carry a small banner that reads "extra rich and chocolatey."

With the key design elements in place, the Compass team began to look at how each individual container shape and size would fit into its retail environment and interact with both its anticipated consumer audiences and competing beverage products.

"The thought was that the pint containers would be sold primarily to high school students and on-the-go adults shopping at convenience stores," says Tom Arthur, Compass partner/designer. "Since the pint containers were transparent and consumers could easily see the product, we kept the packaging to a simple wrap-around label."

Compass and Kemps felt that the half-pint containers-sold only as a six pack-would most likely be bought by parents for their kid's school lunches and snacks. To cover the larger area created by the cardboard carrier, Compass elongated the color block to a rectangle, and enlarged the glass, bubble and straw images.

Compass also needed to incorporate the Kemps cow and tagline "It's the Cows!" back into the package design, after a competitor began using a cow image on their own chocolate milk carton. "Kemps has a lot of equity in its cows, especially when the product is placed in the dairy case," notes Hemphill. "Consumers see the cow and immediately associate it with Kemps."

Since the quart and half-gallon chocolate milk cartons needed to appeal to all audiences, Compass again chose to enlarge the glass, bubble and straw image and place the Kemps cow and tagline on the container. The words, "Excellent Source of Calcium" also were added near the top of both carton sizes.

Nearly nine months after beginning the redesign process, Compass had successfully achieved their objectives. They had created a package redesign that was fun but not childish had a strong shelf presence and worked well across multiple container sizes.

Rachael Kyllo, Kemps/Marigold Foods Director of Marketing concludes, "As always, Compass did a great job for us, creating a package which has received a very positive reaction from consumers."

Kemps redesigned packages of lowfat and regular chocolate milks are available now at selected grocery stores throughout the upper Midwest.

Compass Design is a dynamic, Minneapolis-based design office specializing in comprehensive identity and consumer packaging programs for established and growing companies. With its experienced and knowledgeable staff, Compass Design strives for integrity and accuracy in its cost-effective, award-winning strategic design solutions. For more information on Compass Design, please contact Julia Hemphill at (612) 339-1595 or visit Compass Design's Web site at www.compassdesigninc.com.