Many brands find themselves at a challenging crossroads when it comes to redesigning or even rebranding their packaging and labels. While some redesigns become celebrated milestones in a brand’s history, others can lead to a disconnect with customers, prompting them to turn away entirely. This potential upheaval often leaves brands hesitant to take the leap.
As a family-owned brand with over twenty years of experience, we’ve grappled with these questions time and again.
Are our packaging and labels truly resonating with our customers? Are new shoppers reluctant to choose our products because they fail to stand out or connect with them?
Despite our growing sales, we’ve watched competitors successfully embrace redesigns and rebrands, often propelling their brands to new heights. This inspired us to reconsider our own approach and the impact our packaging has on our customers’ experiences.
In 2018, we decided to take the plunge and completed our first rebrand, unveiling sleek black and gold labels across all our product categories. While many customers saw this as a sign of growth, others viewed it as a complete product change, even though our beloved Nonna-approved recipes remained unchanged. It wasn’t until they tasted the sauce that they recognized that the sauce itself was the same, just the label had been changed.
That launch proved to be a valuable learning experience. Although the new design was ultimately a success at the time, we realized we hadn’t communicated effectively enough that only the packaging had changed, not the product itself.
Understanding this, we committed to ensuring transparency in any future redesigns, making sure our customers knew what to expect.
In 2024, we found ourselves at a similar crossroads—evaluating the longevity of our packaging and labels, we recognized that it just wasn’t resonating with customers as it once did. We knew a big change was needed.
We began by critically assessing our existing branding and quickly realized that many key elements that set us apart were missing—not only from our labels but from our overall identity. We discovered that most of our customers didn’t recognize the “Lady” on the front of our labels or understand her connection to Sandro Botticelli. After extensive discussions, our family made the decision to phase her out and shift our focus to a more powerful aspect of our brand: we are a family-owned business deeply rooted in Italian heritage, where family comes first, quality is paramount, and passion drives everything we do.
Our story needed to be told in a more impactful way. To understand how we could better resonate with our customers, we asked them: What helps you recognize a Botticelli product?
From numerous focus groups, one answer stood out: our customers identify Botticelli by the iconic black label and gold foil. This insight became our guiding star as we sought to remain true to our roots while connecting more deeply with our cherished customers.
Months of dedicated work went into defining the new face of our products. We conducted structured focus groups, tested various design choices, and invested countless hours in research to ensure we were on the right track.
Ultimately, our labels came together in a way that felt almost serendipitous. While honoring our brand’s tradition, they received a much-needed refresh. With thoughtful color coordination, modernized fonts, elevated illustrations, and a more compelling narrative, our labels have been propelled into the contemporary market, blending our rich heritage with a fresh, modern aesthetic.
Beyond the labels, we established a cohesive branding style that unifies our entire presence and assets. This new approach not only allows us to share our story more effectively but also highlights what sets us apart from other brands. We’re committed to building on this foundation, nurturing our brand into the vision we've always dreamed of.
In 2025, we are finally seeing our new look hit the shelves in a wonderful way. We've slowly introduced our new look through various media channels as well as our newest national commercial. We could not be prouder seeing just how excited our customers are to see these first-hand.
We want to extend a very grateful thank you to each one of you who have helped us grow into the brand we are today. Grazie!