Oscar Mayer hot dog labeling says ‘No No No;’ consumers say ‘Yes Yes Yes’

The Kraft Heinz Co. has overhauled the recipes for its Oscar Mayer hot dogs to clean up the products’ formulation, and it has also redesigned the dogs’ packaging to let shoppers know about the change.

The new packaging design includes three repetitions of the word “No,” capitalized and in a large font. Text in a smaller font explains that the hot dogs now contain no added nitrates and nitrites, except those naturally occurring in celery juice; no artificial preservatives, colors or flavors; and no fillers or by-products. The brand owner worked with Bulletproof to create the new package graphics.

Jeremy Truxal, Kraft Heinz brand manager, Oscar Mayer Brand Build, answers some questions about the project.

Why is it a good thing to show “No No No” on the front label? How does that connect with today’s consumers?

Truxal: We know that shoppers are looking at product attributes and ingredient lines now more than ever. It’s important to us that our product packaging gives shoppers a very clear reassurance of the integrity of the new Oscar Mayer Hot Dog line.

Were there any other packaging changes, other than the graphics? Is the band the same size, shape and material as before?

Truxal: Graphics were the only changes made to the packaging. The packaging used is the same structure and material used in previous Oscar MayerHot Dogs packaging.

Can you comment on the timing? Tyson Foods did something similar with its Ball Park brand right before Kraft Heinz rolled out the new Oscar Mayer hot dogs and packaging. What is happening in the market for two major hot dog brands to make a similar change almost simultaneously?

Truxal: Oscar Mayer was the first national hot dog brand to make these recipe changes across the entire line of hot dogs, not just a select variety. Consumer preferences continue to evolve. We saw there was a need for a better quality hot dog for shoppers everywhere, and we set out to provide that superior option, across our whole line, and without changing the price.

How many stock-keeping units (SKUs) are in the new packaging?

Truxal: About 13 SKUs are in the new packaging.

How is the renovated product/package doing in the market so far? Was there an increase in sales?

Truxal: While we cannot share exact sales numbers, we are seeing a positive reaction from consumers and a lift in sales as a result of the hot dog recipe changes and subsequent packaging redesign. 

The flavor color coding is consistent with the previous package design—orange for Cheese Dogs, red for Wieners, black for Beef—but the colors are richer now, conveying quality. What did you do to enhance the colors?

Truxal: Yes, in designing the new product packaging, we wanted to ensure that we kept the same color coding to continue that consistency with shoppers. We applied richer, warmer Pantone colors to help communicate the quality improvements made to every single hot dog.

What background colors are you are using on the new packs?

Truxal: A tone of the classic Oscar Mayer yellow is used on all of the new hot dog packages.

********************************************************************************

Learn what it takes to innovate in the packaging space at MinnPack 2017 (Nov. 8-9; Minneapolis). Register today!