Greenswell Growers

PRODUCED WORK. FIND OUR PACKAGING IN A MID-ATLANTIC GROCERY STORE NEAR YOU.

Problem:
Superior Greens fighting our Low expectations of lettuce

Greenswell Growers (GG) asked us to design new packaging to stand out in the wilted category of leafy greens. GG has the best lettuce: it tastes great, lasts for a month, and is so clean it doesn’t need to be washed.

But fast-wilting leaves, flavorlessness, and E. coli-infused recalls have brought lettuce’s stock so low that Greenswell needs to win people back to the category, period. If GG can break through, they have the potential not just to take market share from other brands, but to win back people who had written off leafy greens entirely.

Insight:
We treat the produce section like a barometer for how much we have our lives together.

Do you fill your cart with produce or skip right past it? Can you eat the veggies before they go bad? Do you keep tossing rotten lettuce or just opt out? Why do you hate salads/yourself? All of these questions play on our sense of how much we do or don’t have our sh** together.

But the things that stress people out about the produce aisle aren’t their fault. Inferior lettuces are put under heavy stress in the growing, harvesting and shipping process — making the product wilt quickly, taste bad, and prone to germs.

“[The produce section makes me feel] optimistic and a little anxious because I want to eat all the veggies but then I buy too many or choose pizza instead.”-survey response

Packaging Strategy:
Grow confidence in a new kind of lettuce.

We want to create packaging unlike other leafy greens that shows off what Greenswell really is: an alternative to what makes people feel inadequate about lettuce.

research
➡ design

300 survey responses for ten words & two icons: GG has a lot of claims it could make, but we had to focus on what was turning people off about lettuce, and say it succinctly. We learned from replicating a study on lettuce preferences (300 responses in all) and conducting interviews that people are concerned about 1.) shelf-life and 2.) cleanliness way more than anything else, including taste.

Grabbing attention & provoking Curiosity

The heart-shaped windowpane packaging stands out against a sea of green and repeating rectangles and circles. The obscured lettuce helps visibility (lights reflect easily on clear film) and challenges shoppers to inspect the product. When they check the back, they’ll see there’s no wilting.

RE: Concern 1
“lasts longer”

“Lasts longer” is placed close to the expiry date (“crunch by”) so consumers can see how far out that date is — usually 3-4 weeks. “Greenhouse grown” is the reason to believe it lasts longer: this product was grown differently than all the fast-wilting lettuces.

RE: Concern 2
“no wash needed”

“No wash needed” replaced “squeaky clean” because it’s surprising to see leafy greens tell you not to wash them. GG is putting their money where your mouth is. (I’m sorry, I’ll show myself out.)

It’s not you, it’s your lettuce

Greenswell will break through not just because they have a superior product, but because they’re branding themselves as an alternative to what has turned people off about leafy greens for so long. You’re not chaotic; your lettuce is. Greenswell is here to grow confidence in their new brand of leafy green.