Smiley Serves Up Success in the Food CategorySmiley Serves Up Success in the Food Category

The Smiley Company is celebrating continued growth across its food division and has announced a packaging refresh that will hit retail later this year.

In 2018, sales of Smiley-branded food and beverages rose by 20 percent. With 23 food and beverage licensees on board, the company’s food division is poised for more success throughout the year.

“The use of 3D Smileys is very much the cornerstone of our food program at the moment,” says Lori Heiss-Tiplady, vice president, brand strategy, The Smiley Company. “We have enjoyed long-term success with the use of our trademarked 3D Smiley shapes in food products for over 20 years, and our focus over the next year will be to sign new partners to build on this success using the multiple expressions which we hold the marks for in this category and introduce new products into the fresh, frozen and ambient categories.”

Successful Smiley Foods partners with the 3D Smiley shape include McCain, Intersnack, Transavia, Dr. Oetker and Lutti Dooo. Smiley-branded products without the 3D shape are also enjoying success. Zaini, for example, has sold more than a million Smiley chocolate eggs with surprise and are launching a Smiley-branded chocolate spread with surprise in the U.S. as well as other territories.

“Constantly evolving to stay at the forefront of trends, we have created a new packaging direction with a ‘sketchy’ graffiti-inspired design style that appeals to both kids and adults alike,” says Heiss-Tiplady. “We know using our Smiley icons prominently on packaging helps drives purchase intent at retail, so building on this as a foundation and further tapping into our SmileyWorld ethos of sharing happiness and positivity, the new designs also feature positive messages on-pack alongside graphics from some of our most popular style guides. The result is a fun, trendy design that will stand out on shelves and bring smiles to every aisle!”

The new packaging design will roll out over the next year with partners including Intersnack, Dr Oetker and Laita, among others. Smiley will also launch new packaging design later this year.