• by Nina Lentini  @Nina_Lentini, January 26, 2009

For the first time in nearly a century, Lindsay Olives is redesigning its identity under the "Savor Olive Life" banner, introducing new products and launching a marketing campaign as well as new packaging and a Web site.

And that's just the beginning, says Kate Hart, consumer marketing manager at Lindsay Olives. Prior to the state of the company's fiscal year on Aug. 1, "we will be ramping up our planning for next year and looking at online [marketing]."

Meanwhile, the Lafayette, Calif.-based company is running full-page ads focusing on Lindsay Olives as fun, delicious snacks in next month's Sunset, Midwest Living, Southern Living and Cooking Light, and in Progressive Grocer and Supermarket News through April. Fun, in-store point-of-sale marketing programs that introduce the new identity will be placed in Lindsay Olive markets. Additionally, Lindsay will launch a completely redesigned www.lindsayolives.com on Monday.

The changes stem from research done in 2007 that showed consumers enjoy olives because they invite social interaction and help them wind down at the end of the day.

"In our focus groups, we heard common themes," says Hart. "People think of olives as transforming social occasions. They think about olives in ways that are different than pickles and carrot sticks; olives are more revered. It goes beyond just the food. There's some nostalgia, some interesting aspects; they're more flavorful."

Although the company's logo remains unchanged, a vibrant red anchors the new identity across marketing materials, replacing the California orange crate style design. Labels on cans, jars and boxes feature clever, fun-loving illustrations that reflect the unique characteristics of the individual olives. The illustrations were created to help olive lovers differentiate among various olive styles and sizes, and in some cases highlight ways to best enjoy the olives.

For example, the label on Large California Ripe Pitted Olives includes a fanciful drawing of an olive tree bent sideways due to the weight of a large, single olive. Olives as the body of a playful-looking jumbo jet blasting through space reinforce the olive's size on cans of Jumbo California Ripe Pitted Olives. More than 30 illustrations are featured on the product line-up.

Multiple new products, flavors and packages will be rolled out in 2009. Lindsay Snackers is first, hitting supermarket shelves this spring. Created for on-the-go snacking, each box contains four pop-top cans of approximately 15 olives in Original, Garlic or Italian flavors.

Designed for today's busy lifestyles, the cans are perfectly sized for kids' lunch boxes, hikers' backpacks, mom's purse or road warriors' briefcases. Lindsay Olives' parent company Bell-Carter Foods, Inc. was established in 1912 in Berkeley, Calif., and now produces more than 10 million cases of olives annually, making it the largest U.S. table olive processor, per the company. Always family owned, the business is now operated by fourth-generation family members.