From the original recipe created and served locally in the Hot Gossip Lake Tahoe coffee shop in 1995, Tahoe Trail Bar had developed a reputation as a go-to snack for outdoor sports and adventure. When Wes King, the current Owner & CEO, bought the recipe for the single flavor and rights to make the product, the nutrition, health and wellness category was growing exponentially. He realized it was time to get Tahoe Trail Bar introduced to a wider audience as well as to introduce new flavors. King turned to Perspective: Branding for a rebrand.
“Our main goal was to create a striking image that authentically captured the potential of the brand,” says design firm Founder/CEO Simon Thorneycroft. The redesign focuses on the positioning “fuel for the journey,” brought to life with a pinecone mountain logo, along with a mountain trail “to illustrate the unique destination, thereby connecting it to the fuel that consumers need to complete the journey.”
Thorneycroft determined that the existing muted green color of the brand should be brightened to a rich, saturate green, creating a billboard effect. He also adapted the identifiable image of the hiker from the previous version of the single package, but made it smaller and more in harmony within the context of the new mountainous background setting. Ingredient icons were added to increase appetite appeal and reinforce the health benefits. The new packaging and flavors are currently being shipped to Whole Foods, Safeway, Raley’s, Scolari’s, Sports Basement, and Nugget Markets among other retailers.
