Flint’s Recipe for Reser’s Rebrand
A Full Case Study
For over 70 years, Reser’s fine foods had the market cornered for fast, easy, homestyle meals. As the self-professed “Proud Sponsor of Good Times,” the brand made a name for itself through premium meals and side dishes with made-from-scratch taste and time-honored dedication to family and tradition. However, in recent years, their Sensational Sides and Entrees sales started to decline due to increased competition, lost distribution, and difficulty attracting new customers. They decided to realign their values and their brand.
CLIENT
Reser’s Fine Foods
WHAT WE DID
Art Direction
Package Design
Product Strategy
From the start, our objective was to position their sides as an enticing option for people looking to put wholesome, good food on the table each night. We took a step back and marinated in consumer research to fully understand how the American food culture was evolving. We uncovered that Gen Z and Millennials led meal trends and were likely to incorporate customized eating and meal planning into their diets, including frozen complete meals, dinner kits and shelf-to-table microwaveable dinners.
The end goal became clear: Elevate the Reser’s design to connect with consumers who are looking for convenience, high-quality ingredients and homemade flavor.
We approached this product line like an editorial on the best side dishes in your favorite culinary magazine: the food should look delicious and appetizing—and part of the dinner table. The package needed to make an emotional connection that would reassure the buyer about their choice.
In order to re-popularize their prepackaged sides category, we created a contemporary, premium and approachable package design. Inspired by traditional delis, we designed a label that took its cues from classic wrap-around stickers, giving the impression of a freshly made offering. We complemented Reser’s iconic logo with a rounded sans-serif typeface that was approachable, bold, easy to read, and gave the consumer a clear hierarchy of what mattered most in this category: clean ingredients and minutes to meal time. We had our brand billboard—now we needed the key ingredient.
We cooked up the perfect way to show consumers exactly what was inside the box with new photography that was appetizing, interesting, and highlighted the sides on the table as part of a larger meal. By bringing Reser’s color palette into a natural home setting, the dishes felt accessible and delivered a sense of everyday life with subtlety and finesse. Marrying the photography with a modern label design and a fresh messaging hierarchy positioned Reser’s to re-introduce their hot sides to the category with confidence.
A change in photography perspective to a ¾ view gives context and inspiration as part of a larger meal.
A dish for different occasions: the everyday sides are simple, easy, and reflect the daily dinner table of the average consumer; while the limited edition sides capture the warmth and aspiration of a special dinner shared with loved ones.
Even for a brand over 70 years old, it was still possible to maintain their ethos and give their product a current flavor for a changing consumer. They already had the ingredients; our job was to elevate the recipe with a hearty helping of strategic design.
We believe brands are built on people, personality and product story. As long as the fundamentals are there, it’s always possible to bring something new to the table.
