Gifford's Ice Cream Launches Overhaul Of Packaging And Branding Of Its Award-Winning Ice Cream Line

Beginning April 2011 fans of family-owned, Maine-based Gifford's Ice Cream will find a new, eye-catching look on Gifford’s packages in retail outlets throughout New England, New York and New Jersey.

The product's updated brand, a year in the making, features a completely revamped package look and new Gifford's logo for its retail ice cream and low-fat frozen yogurt flavors. The project was driven by the company's desire to more clearly inform customers about the premium ingredients and attention to detail and quality that have made Gifford's Ice Cream the largest, most popular ice cream manufacturer in Maine.

The new packaging, available in six half-gallon flavors, 15 quart flavors, and 4 low-fat frozen yogurt flavors, is effectively underscoring Gifford's unwavering commitment to the quality ingredients the family-owned company has relied on for over three decades. The front of each carton now prominently displays each flavor's colorful prime ingredient along with catchy flavor descriptions, while the new logo features a stylized letter “G” that serves as a clever reference to a bowl of ice cream. Gifford's selected Bath, Maine-based Briggs Advertising (www.briggsadv.com) to carry out the new branding project, in large measure due to the firm's track record and impressive portfolio of food and beverage industry branding projects.

“When people taste our ice cream for the first time they know it's different from any other brand they've tried before, and not only because our ice cream is free of artificial colors and flavors,” noted Lindsay Gifford-Skilling, vice president of sales at Gifford's. “We wanted to be sure our packaging is telling that story. Ice cream competition in markets is stiff, and we needed to really stand out and 'leap' off the shelf, while at the same time present a package that would do a fantastic job of communicating our premium, high-quality product.

“The feedback we've been receiving from customers, market staff and our team at Gifford’s tells us we hit the nail on the head with achieving what we were aiming for with this new feel and look,” she added. “This is especially important as we grow into additional markets that may not yet be as familiar with our ice cream products.”

According to Walter Briggs, President at Briggs Advertising, what was essential to the successful branding outcome was conveying in a compelling way what the Gifford's product actually is: high-end, premium, unforgettable.

“Given Gifford's successes, particularly with their multiple 'World's Best Ice Cream' wins and prominent attention from outlets like Food Network, it became crucial that the company take their overall brand to the next level,” according to Briggs. “The ice cream's new, more sophisticated package completely sets it apart from its competitors, but in a very credible, tempting way.”

Additional components of Gifford's new brand will begin appearing throughout the year, to include ice cream product materials at the company's five ice cream stands in Maine, road signs, advertising, and a new, family-friendly website filled with interesting Gifford's trivia, recent news, and a collection of fun Gifford's Ice Cream history and images.

"Through hard work and an unwavering commitment to innovation, we've had the good fortune to become Maine's biggest ice cream maker – but without sacrificing one bit of the quality we’ve become known for through the years,” added Gifford-Skilling. “Updating our branding is the latest step we've taken to ensure we are always looking ahead toward a strong future."

Source: Gifford's Ice Cream