The consumer-packaged goods (CPG) landscape has never been more crowded. Walk down any aisle or scroll through your social feed and you’ll see it: packaging screaming for attention, campaigns leaning on shock value and endless brands chasing the same bright, edgy aesthetic. For years, being “bold” was the shortcut to standing out. But when everyone is bold, nothing feels distinctive. Different has become the new default.
In this oversaturated environment, simply being louder isn’t enough. Brands must move beyond decoration to create true distinction—anchored in strategy, clarity and emotional resonance. After all, emotion is the engine of brand value. Around 95% of purchase decisions are made subconsciously. Consumers don’t just buy what you sell: they buy how it makes them feel. When your brand creates a sense of belonging, identity, or purpose, you earn trust and loyalty. That’s the essence of emotional equity.
Rules for a Relevant Brand Refresh
So how do you refresh a brand in ways that resonate deeply while still standing out on the shelf? Here are a few principles to guide the way:
Start with Clarity
A refresh begins with self-awareness. Who are you at your core, and who are you for? Every signal your brand puts into the world—from typography and color to voice and behaviors—should reinforce your story, not confuse it.
Honor Your DNA
Trends come and go, but your identity is what consumers anchor to in uncertain times. Strong brands evolve without erasing their roots. Staying true to your DNA prevents reactive, opportunistic rebrands that dilute equity.
Design for the Whole Brain
Effective packaging design engages both fast, emotional intuition and slower, rational analysis. The best brands make you feel something immediately and then hold up under scrutiny, balancing style and substance.
Leverage Human Desires
People connect with brands that fulfill deep-seated human needs, such as acceptance, order, tranquility or power. When a brand refresh aligns design and storytelling with these universal motivators, it creates resonance that transcends trends.
A Framework for Extraordinary Brands
At LPK, we use our GATOR criteria to ensure brands stay both aspirational and grounded. It’s a strategic gut check to make sure brands aren’t just creative—they’re effective.
- Gut Appeal – Does it make people feel something instantly?
- Anchor – Are there familiar signals and category cues that ground it?
- Twist – Is there a surprise that makes it memorable?
- Ownability – Does it have distinct assets that no one else can claim?
- Relevance – Is it meaningfully connected to what people care about right now?
When all five are present, brands move beyond attention-grabbing to building trust and loyalty over time. Boldness then becomes a tool for impact, not the strategy itself.
Lessons from the Aisle
To bring this thinking to life, we’ve chosen examples of recent refreshes—some from our own work and others we admire across the industry. Each illustrates how relevance, not just boldness, drives impact.
Hostess
When Smucker’s acquired Hostess in 2023, sales were slipping—they needed the brand to better connect with new audiences. The brand kept its recognizable palette but modernized its typography and simplified its system for clarity. Consumers chose the new design two-to-one over the old, with improved perceptions of taste and modernity. It showed how staying true while updating can re-energize a brand.
Liquid I.V.
Unilever’s Liquid I.V. was growing quickly but packaging lagged behind its position. A new design system emphasized variant clarity and visual appetite appeal, while strengthening presence on shelf. The redesign helped drive double-digit growth and made the brand one of Amazon Prime Day’s top sellers. Growth doesn’t always require a crisis—it can also be about anticipation.
Caboo
Caboo once spoke mainly to hardcore sustainability shoppers. Its 2022 refresh expanded the story, bringing emotional resonance to a broader audience. A fresher, more compelling design moved the brand beyond niche appeal, earning new retail placements, including Whole Foods. Done right, refreshes can create entirely new opportunities.
Holland House
Holland House, a brand with deep culinary roots, needed to modernize without losing credibility. The refresh, led by LPK, elevated quality cues while introducing stronger appetite appeal, clarifying its place in modern cooking. It proved that honoring history while signaling modern relevance can help a legacy brand find new resonance.
Corona
Corona’s refresh was less about reinvention and more about re-centering its iconic equity. Our work reinforced what makes the brand instantly recognizable while refining visual systems to feel fresher and more adaptable across markets. It shows how leaning into timeless brand DNA can keep a global icon relevant.
Building Lasting Relevance
Boldness alone isn’t enough. Emotion creates equity. And identity is the anchor that keeps brands steady while they evolve. Refreshes that work aren’t reactive—they’re intentionally rooted in meaning. Brands that embrace clarity, emotion and cultural fluency will earn a lasting place in consumers’ lives.
ABOUT LPK
LPK is a modern brand consultancy that applies insightful strategy and beautiful creativity to harness change—making momentum that grows brands and businesses.
