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Blue Plate Mayonnaise is the best. Period. The brand has been a staple on tables and in recipes throughout the South since 1927. But their packaging did not reflect its heritage and quality, and with competitors taking over shelf space — both in stores and in pantries — it was time to reclaim the brand’s rightful place as THE Southern mayo. When they tapped our team to update the entire line, we saw a whitespace opportunity to disrupt the shelf with a radical brand change fully vetted through risk-reducing research and consumer testing.
The Original Po-Boy Mayo
Prior to the 1930s, store-bought mayo simply wasn’t an option. It was a gourmet item carefully handmade in homes and restaurants only. But with advances in food production and consumer acceptance of mass-prepared products, demand rose — and down in New Orleans, one of the first commercially-made mayos was quite literally whipped up in the back shed of the Wesson Oil Company. Named for ornate and beautiful blue plates produced in England (and the “blue plate specials” offered by local eateries), Blue Plate was an instant hit — richer, creamier and tastier than lesser brands — and eventually returned to local ownership in 1974 when William B. Reily Company purchased the brand. We can’t imagine a genuine New Orleans po-boy dressed with anything else!
The Challenge
Our task was tricky: create a new Blue Plate Mayonnaise brand that’s recognizable to loyal customers while also capturing the attention of customers who’ve never given the brand a chance.
To millions in the South, mayo belongs on every table, right next to the silverware and salt — and to folks in New Orleans, Blue Plate is the only option. We just needed the rest of the country to feel that way, too. Fortunately, Blue Plate has not one, but two clear advantages over the rest of the category: superior quality and authentic New Orleans heritage.
By positioning Blue Plate as the brand with better ingredients — and the choice of a food-obsessed city — we could attract new customers through brand heritage and give Blue Plate Mayo the parade it deserves.
Putting our concepts to the test
Consumer packaging research is fascinating. Partnering with SmashBrand, we entered client-coordinated research with a national reach. Armed with a strategic selection of design options, we listened carefully to what resonated with what our client cared about, and what connected with the target audiences. In every round of testing, one design was the clear winner...
“The TILT team did a fantastic job of understanding our brand heritage and what makes Blue Plate different and special compared to our competition and delivered on the difficult task of communicating those points of difference in a clear, beautiful design.”
-Dan Trahant, Reily Foods
With final design refinements in place, we handed off the work for final consumer testing. The results blew us away. Research participants comparing the old and new designs indicated that they would be much more likely to purchase the newly branded Blue Plate. With an approved flagship design in place, we implemented the look across the entire product family including Light Mayo, Olive Oil, the hugely popular Sandwich Spread, and a new product, New Orleans Hot & Spicy. Look for it wherever you shop!
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