Chances are, if you grew up in the Midwest, the big blue Jays logo is as familiar as the taste of the crunchy potato chips for which the company became famous. Jays Foods began its long and colorful history in 1927, just two years before the stock market crash.

The privately held Jay’s survived that, along with a number of other bumps in the road, and was recently acquired by Ubiquity Brands of Chicago. One of Ubiquity’s first orders of business was to bring a new look to the venerable brand’s identity and packaging, while still preserving decades of brand equity.

“Our new packaging resoundingly communicates ‘Jays’,” says Tom Reynolds, executive vice president for innovation at Ubiquity. “We have increased the emphasis on the Jay’s logo and have more prominently incorporated our tag line. There is more of a Jays family feel than ever before.”

Ubiquity worked with Haugaard Creative Group, another Windy City native, to update the packaging for its existing Crispy Ridged line of potato chips. The new look is also incorporated into the packaging for three new products: Garden Herb Ranch, Jalapeño and Cheddar and Roasted Garlic and Parmesan chips.

Among the changes are a dimensionalized and updated version of the Jays logo medallion, a contemporary palette of colors designed to make it easier for consumers to locate the product at retail and more prominent positioning of the Jays tagline “Can’t stop eating ’em®”.

Copy communicating “0g trans fat” replaces the previous statement “Cooked in 100% corn oil”. All of the brand’s chips are still cooked in 100% corn oil, but the hierarchy was changed to address current consumer concerns with trans fats. Packaging structure, a high barrier metallized polypropylene, remains the same.

“The redesign significantly changes the look of Jays' in-store real estate,” says Reynolds. “Shoppers will be drawn to the different, contemporary colors and graphics. Consumers like variety and taste innovation, and the packaging will make it easier for them to understand and differentiate our new offerings.”

The new packaging has just begun shipping to stores within the past month. Jays has announced plans to launch as many as seven new products this year, and the company’s next launch will include the redesign of another line of products. BP