How Sun-Maid is Back in the Spotlight After a Decade in the Dark

Many consumers, young and old, have fond memories of opening a red box of Sun-Maid raisins and sharing them with friends. But, the dried fruit has taken a beating, and you can blame it all on Millennials who have no idea who The California Raisins are.

But that isn’t about to stop the brand, which still ranks as the number one raisin brand in America. There are big plans to pull the dried grapes back up into the sunshine targeting a growth goal of $100 million in five years, Fast Company reported.

A new campaign is in market for the first time in 10 years tied to a line of bold new products. While baby boomers and senior citizens are the biggest source of volume, CEO and president Harry Overly told Fast Company that it had neglected to keep up relationships with kids and their parents as they aged.

Sun-Maid feels it is in a good position to remake itself with the new campaign and new products like the sugar-free dried fruit product that includes watermelon, mixed berry, strawberry and grape as consumers, in particular Millennial moms, look for all-natural, healthy products.

The campaign “Grow Young,” created by food and beverage creative agency Quench, is airing across television outlets including Bravo, HGTV, Food Network, E!, Lifetime and other broadcast channels. The storyline is designed to reignited the feelings of eating Sun-Maid products as youngsters for older consumers and communicate that feeling to prospective younger customers. The campaign is being amplified nationally with digital, social, in-store shopper activation and PR, including a more strategic retail plan and presence.

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In the run up to planning the relaunch, research showed that the brand still has a strong emotional brand equity, with consumers of all ages remembering the raisins from childhood. Understanding that insight, the refreshed logo continue to carry the nostalgic hallmarks of the brand’s history: red packaging, the girl and the brand’s name Sun-Maid.

“There’s a special kind of magic in childhood and the feelings that come with remembering this simple yet happy time,” Harry Overly, CEO and president of Sun-Maid said. “Millennials, specifically, love to evoke the wistfulness of being a kid—and now they can experience that again through their children, making new memories.

The brand transformation began one year ago with the hiring of Overly, Sun-Maid said.