When baked goods brand Give & Go decided to revisit the packaging design for its Two-Bite line, it was aware of the nostalgia surrounding them – and protective of the brand itself, which launched with its iconic brownie in 1997.

That didn’t stop the Mondelez-owned Give & Go from enlisting Pigeon Brands to take a deeper dive into Two-Bite and help it reimagine its appearance. And what has resulted is a fresh take on the brand that cleans up the packaging and introduces a more approachable logo, which will be rolling out across the brand’s product lines on a staggered basis over the next several months.

The “more modern” brand expression in Two-Bite’s redesign was the result of a carefully considered process, according to Martin Carrière, head of client services at Pigeon.

“When you have something net new to market, there’s no preconceived notions or expectations [about the design]. But because this brand has been around for so long and unchanged for such a long period of time, that had to play into our consideration,” he tells strategy.

“A brand that has been around this long, people are protective of it,” Carrière says. “But all along the way we were looking at pushing the brand further out, and every time we brought the brand to this stage, people were drawn to it.”

The redesign was not without its challenges, and that protectiveness was only one of them. Other considerations in play also included how to make the new look play well to both Canadian consumers who have known and loved the brand since they were kids, and American consumers who may not have those childhood memories, but who still know and love Two-Bite’s line of products.

The goal, then, was to make the product more “memorable,” explains Keri Cadger, senior designer with Pigeon.

“Consumers are already going into the store to buy their cupcakes for their daughters’ birthday or the sweet treat to the office meeting,” she explains. “But once they’ve bought it, we want to make sure they remember it was Two-Bite. We wanted to make the brand live beyond the initial purchase and become ingrained in the consumer’s mind.”

The redesign aims to do this in several ways. First is through a clean new typeface that respects the old look while tilting the letters upward to make it appear more celebratory, as well as introducing other flourishes – such as a “smile” in the curve of the letter “e.”

These simpler and friendlier elements allow the brand to get back to its essence as a simple snack meant to be consumed, ideally, in two bites, says Cadger.

The redesign also introduces greater uniformity across Two-Bite’s many SKUs, from cupcakes to brownies and other sweet treats. Though the colour palette used for each product is variable, the logo’s typeface – and cream-hued background – remain consistent as hallmarks for consumers, Cadger says, that also speak to the fact “nothing in baking is perfectly white.”

In fact, that uniformity in design serves the new look well in addressing one of the brand’s other key concerns, which is accounting for its tendency to innovate.

“They’re always coming out with new products – looking at the latest trend in home baking, and making sure they come out with something better,” explains Cadger. “We had to make sure we came up with something that worked for today’s large portfolio, but also for one that’s still growing and will continue to grow.”

And it had to have enough room to accommodate seasonality as well, adds Carrière – including the ability to introduce festive elements for specific holidays or celebratory occasions.

Carrière and Cadger say those concerns are all met in the new design, which also enables the product to stand out as the star – an important concern for an in-store bakery brand.

“You can’t taste the product, so you have to make sure they get the visual impression of how delicious it’s going to be,” Cadger explains. “We really had to let the product and brand work together in order to shine.”