Behind Welch’s rebrand as it seeks awareness beyond grape juice

Welch’s is undergoing a rebrand meant to remind consumers that the company is more than just grapes. The 154-year-old farmer-owned cooperative has named a new creative agency of record, Fitzco, which has launched a new branding campaign called “Let’s Fruit Stuff Up.” The program—which includes a sizable uptick in media spending—is intended to bring a new energy to the Welch’s brand by harnessing the colors and flavors of fruits, versus a previous focus on pastoral farm scenes. It comes as the brand aims to better deliver on what today’s consumers today want—lighter and more refreshing products and low- and no-sugar options—in addition to its core of fuller-calorie juices, foods and snacks, said Scott Utke, chief marketing officer for parent company Welch Foods. A new alcohol partnership is also on the way that will involve canned cocktails set for a spring debut in partnership with Oklahoma City-based alcohol marketer Coop Aleworks. See our 2023 Marketers of the Year here The rebranding, which includes a refreshed logo, package redesign and revamped social media presence, is the first for Welch’s in 10 years. It acknowledges that while consumers have fond associations with Welch’s grape-juice heritage, the brand hadn’t done enough to distinguish its other offerings in recent years, which include mango, peach cranberry, orange-pineapple, fruit punch and other flavors. “We’ve been around for 150 years and we’ve been very consistent. But sometimes your greatest strength becomes your greatest weakness. So for us, part of it was we didn’t change with the times fast enough as a brand,” Utke said. “People know us for our bold flavors,” he continued. “But at the end of the day, when we talk to consumers and ask what do you think about Welch’s, it’s like, ‘You guys are a big jug of grape juice for kids.’ That hurts, because we stand for so much more than that.” The rebrand accompanies a sizable increase in media spend, Utke said. “It’s huge for Welch’s. Especially for our business that’s owned by a farmers’ coop, it’s been great that they’ve been willing to invest back in the business,” Utke said. “When I started about a little over two years ago, we had a modest budget. I mean, we had less than $10 million to spend. And we’ve increased our budget over 300% over the last two years.” Welch’s spent $1 million in measured media over the first half of 2023 vs. $1 million in all of 2022, according to Vivvix, including paid social from Pathmatics. Also read: Top 5 logo changes of 2023 Before its relationship with Fitzco, Welch’s had worked with Anomaly on the “Keep Crushin’ It” campaign in 2021. The vast majority of Welch’s advertising is in digital channels today, with retail media and social the top areas of focus. “Walmart.com, Walmart Connect, Target.com, Instacart—there’s a lot of dollars we’re spending across those metrics,” Utke said. “And from a digital and a social perspective, we’re following our consumer. So we’re using purchase-based targeting and we’re investing in social in a big way.” Grounded in the consumer Work began in 2022 as Welch’s made sure its brand positioning was “grounded in the consumer,” so that its various customer segments would be receptive to the rebrand, said Utke. While Welch’s broadest customer group is young families, items within its portfolio reach into narrower segments. Refrigerated juices, for example, over-index in urban areas and with Hispanic families, Utke said. Welch’s then moved on to a packaging overhaul led by Sterling Brands. Sterling tweaked the Welch’s logo, introducing a curvier type, a wavier label, and an apostrophe and other elements resembling juicy splashes to connote refreshment and excitement. Each category within the portfolio (juices, fruit spreads, sparkling beverages and snacks) received its own treatment, using real fruit photography on the label. “Our ask of [Sterling] was, can we get what we think the tone and personality the brand should be, and can you balance that with the heritage of real fruit that we’re grounded in?” Utke said. “I think they did a really nice job in terms of redoing the logo, doing real fruit photography, adding a level of energy and vibrance to that and balancing that with the communication on the pack.” That communication comes through label-printed QR codes allowing consumers to scan and learn about Welch’s farmer-owned story and its Growing Tomorrow Together sustainability platform. Fitzco was selected as the brand’s new agency, and built a master brand equity campaign around a new slogan, “Let’s Fruit Stuff Up.” Its work debuted over the summer. “Welch’s had a ton of pent-up equity,” said Stephanie Hanley, head of account management for Fitzco, in an interview. “The brand in some ways had gotten stale over time. It has this great rich history, but needed some revitalization and some reframing for today’s audiences and based on today’s products.” An energetic lead spot, “Miss Real Fruity,” featured a cheeky remix of Bubba Sparxx’s 2006 song “Miss New Booty.” The ad was shown on digital channels and backed up with a campaign spanning billboards, contextual out-of-home, radio and social. “There’s this wonderful reclaiming of hip-hip culture that we could unlock in song so that today’s consumer would feel they are really being spoken to,” said Hanley, adding that the spot was a “a labor of love in many ways.” Additional creative has since been rolled out for Welch’s sparkling juices. Additional categories will be featured early next year, Hanley said. Welch’s social presence has been revamped with colorful content now appearing on Instagram and TikTok. An example of its brand “personality” came through when Welch’s, on behalf of its grape jelly, made a marriage proposal to peanut butter brand Skippy on Twitter and a Times Square billboard (the peanut butter said yes). We go together like peanut butter and jelly because....we are. @Skippy, say yes? pic.twitter.com/v9l6UqJTwH— Welch's (@Welchs) February 14, 2023 Revamping the portfolio Revitalizing the portfolio is the third leg of Welch’s rebranding. This includes going after trends within its existing product categories while introducing new products that can reach customers outside of its traditional core. Consumers want bolder flavors in categories like juice, resulting in the introduction of flavors like mango passion fruit, said Utke. But even bigger opportunity lies in getting Welch’s to tap into “unmet needs,” or consumer need states Welch’s products don’t currently serve. “A lot of those unmet needs are really around delivering against light and refreshing—a different need state than what we’re currently known for—or moving into a no- or low sugar area,” Utke said. “Those are some areas that we’re really moving into, so that we can have a broader breadth of options as we think about our core competency of bringing that flavor.” For example, one product currently in test markets is Welch’s Grapeade, a lemonade challenger playing into the light, refreshing and no-sugar trends. It comes in green grape, strawberry and mango flavors. “It’s easy to drink but it’s more flavorful than lemonade with less sugar,” Utke said of Grapeade. Additional products meeting those trends are on the way, he added. Welch’s is also moving to capitalize on the ready-to-drink alcohol trend. Welch’s Concord Grape Vodka Transfusion, Vodka Cranberry, Watermelon Mule, and Passionfruit Mojito will be released this spring, in partnership with Coop Ale Works (Coop is the brewer of Sonic Hard Seltzer, the hard seltzer line based on the restaurant’s drink flavors. Welch’s rival Ocean Spray is set to launch a line of vodka cocktails with Absolut in early 2024). Read more about Ocean Spray’s vodka cocktails here Utke said the partnership grew out of a desire to capitalize on the transfusion, a popular drink on golf courses using concord grape juice, vodka and ginger ale. Welch’s is also working on a merchandising partnership with St. James Wine to supply both alcoholic and non-alcoholic options for celebrations. Welch’s declined to share sales trends, but Utke said the rebrand was off to a promising start. “From a velocity standpoint, we’re moving household penetration by about 5%. We are also seeing really positive movement in some of the brand attributes that we want to see evolve over time. … The hope is there are long-term benefits and [that] consistency changes perception,” he said. “We’re still on that journey.” A history of advertising Welch’s has a long history as an advertiser that dates back to its founder, Dr. Thomas Welch, who first concocted a pasteurized and alcohol-free “unfermented wine” in 1869. Seeing the potential for an alcohol alternative, Thomas Welch’s son, Charles Welch, ran for governor of New York on the Prohibition Party ticket in 1916, but finished fourth, according to an online biography. But the grape juice was a winner, particularly in the Prohibition era when Welch’s was a major advertiser in print publications such as Ladies Home Journal, Scientific American and the Saturday Evening Post. Welch’s also published its own magazine, called The Acorn. Welch’s advertised with “The Mickey Mouse Club” in the 1950s, “The Flintstones” in the 1960s and “The Archies” in the 1970s. The 1980s featured animated characters known as the “Welchkins.” In the 1990s and 2000s, a TV campaign called “Memories” featured a child speaking directly to the camera. The format was so successful, four different children were used over the course of the campaign as each aged out of the role.

Behind Welch’s rebrand as it seeks awareness beyond grape juice

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