Planters Goes Nuts with Upscale Packaging

Hormel Foods is kicking off National Peanut Day, September 13, with the launch of Planters Special Reserve peanuts in collector’s-edition packaging.

Exceptional quality is the product’s central attribute. Special Reserve peanuts are grown in irrigated soil in Virginia on fewer than 150 acres and have been cultivated for size; they are significantly larger than standard. Artisanal characteristics include small-batch roasting and hand salting.

Hormel’s packaging design communicates the premium positioning both structurally and graphically.

“The canister that we selected to use for this exclusive release was an aluminum canister to make the Special Reserve product stand out and feel even more extraordinary,” Kate Coombs, brand manager at Hormel Foods, tells Packaging Digest. For freshness, the 12.5-oz canister has a pull-top lid and plastic overcap.

The limited edition’s secondary packaging is a hinged shoulder box that opens like a book to reveal the canister, which is tucked into a die-cut insert. Thus, the canister is on display when the consumer opens the box.

Paying tribute to Mr. Peanut.

The packaging graphics highlight the Planters brand, “Special Reserve/Crop ’23,” and the peanuts’ size, with a robust peanut dominating the front of the canister label. In a departure from the brand’s typical package graphics, the full figure of Mr. Peanut does not appear.

Related:Planters Nuts Packaging: More Peanut-Like, Less Plastic

“Although Mr. Peanut isn’t fully visible, we paid tribute to him by including his top hat on top of the peanut, along with having his hand presenting this one-of-a-kind peanut,” Coombs says.

Hormel Foods Corp.

The back and sides of the label are printed with nutrition panel, ingredients, an image of the peanut to scale, and copy describing the product’s unique qualities.

To decorate the label, Hormel “used a gold-foil stamp with gloss varnish to highlight the premium aspect of the product and let our consumers know that these are no ordinary peanuts,” Coombs says.

The interior of the box and its exterior printing are also gold. Planters’ internal brand-design team collaborated with Smith Design to create the packaging.

Luxe inspo.

“High-end gift packaging was certainly part of our inspiration,” Coombs says. “We know that Planters fans have spent years collecting different Mr. Peanut items, and we wanted to pay homage to the peanut itself.”

She adds, “Our ultimate goal is for Planters peanut lovers to proudly display the packaging while enjoying these premium peanuts.”

On the morning of National Peanut Day, Planters Special Reserve peanuts in the collector’s-edition box will go on sale exclusively through the Planters Special Reserve website for $19.06 — acknowledging Planters’ founding year of 1906.

Related:Planters Nut Duos: Out of the Can & into the Pouch

A limited quantity of Special Reserve canisters, sans box, will also be available at Walmart.com and Amazon.com, with a suggested retail price of $9.98.