When Good Packaging Isn’t Doing Enough — Redesigning Jackson’s Chips to Win at Mass
What happens when a better-for-you brand outgrows its better-for-you packaging? You call Seedhouse. Twice.
Jackson’s had a genuinely great product story: kettle chips made with avocado oil, a founding family behind the brand, and a Shark Tank moment that had put them on the radar of health-conscious snackers everywhere. But as Jackson’s set its sights beyond natural and specialty retailers and into mass competition against conventional chip giants, the packaging wasn’t keeping up. The brand had a point of difference — avocado oil — that shoppers weren’t seeing fast enough on shelf.
We had the rare and rewarding opportunity to redesign Jackson’s packaging system not once, but twice. Here’s what we learned along the way.
Overview
Client: Jackson’s
Delivered: Brand Strategy, Concepting, CPG Packaging Redesign, Package Design System, Line Extension, Brand Identity Redesign, Icon Design, Custom Illustration, Food Styling, Photography Direction, Print Management, POS Displays, Naming.
Round One: Building a Foundation Worth Smiling About
The first redesign was about establishing brand equity and shelf presence. We built the Jackson’s logo in the shape of a smile — a simple, ownable choice that reinforced the brand’s optimistic personality and gave it a recognizable symbol in a crowded aisle. It worked. The brand found its footing, built its audience, and grew.
Then it was time to grow bigger.
The Problem with Success: It Raises the Stakes
When Jackson’s made the move to compete at mass retail against conventional chip brands, the original Kettle Chip packaging — designed to follow the playbook of the Sweet Potato line — wasn’t pulling its weight. The main point of difference, Avocado Oil, wasn’t leading the conversation. In a category where shoppers make decisions in seconds, that’s a problem.
This is the tension every brand manager knows well: the packaging that got you here may not be the packaging that gets you there.
Redesign Two: The Chip is Hero. Avocado Oil is the Story.
We went back to what makes Jackson’s special and built the redesign around it. The smile architecture of the logo and a new “Always Avocado Oil” banner — rendered in avocado green and hugging the bottom of the Jackson’s wordmark — became the backbone of the system. This pairing creates a repeating visual signature across the line: instantly recognizable, impossible to miss, and tightly linked to the ingredient that makes Jackson’s worth choosing over the conventional guys. By creating a consistent, cohesive presence with strong architecture at the top of the packaging, the brand grabs attention in high-stimuli environments like the store shelf, easing consumer navigation and increasing sales.
This wasn’t design for design’s sake. Consumer research from the chip aisle confirmed what we suspected: flavor and experience (crunch, texture, that first bite) drive trial. The new design leads with exactly that.
We Put it to the Test—and it Won.
We don’t ask clients to take our word for it. The Kettle redesign was run through rigorous consumer research, tested head-to-head against the existing design. The new design won decisively on consumer preference and key brand attributes. Which raised an obvious question: what else could we apply this to?
Extending the System: Super Veggie Straws
The research win earned us the chance to extend the design system to a new product line: Jackson’s Super Veggie Straws. Same brand architecture, new challenge. A single straw doesn’t photograph like a single chip — it needs context. We adapted the system to feature a grouping of straws (think french fry container grouping) and built in a center bullseye that could accommodate a product name. A heart-shaped violator brought Jackson’s “Real Veggie Promise” front and center, clearly communicating the brand’s POD to a new audience.
Again, we tested. Again, we iterated. Again, it worked.
The Sweet Potato Challenge: Don’t Mess with a Fan Favorite
Anyone who has managed a beloved legacy SKU knows this feeling: please don’t let us break the thing that’s already working.
The Sweet Potato Chips were Jackson’s highest-selling product. Loyal consumers had strong feelings about them. So we took a staged approach to the creative exploration — ranging from designs that stayed close to the existing Sweet Potato equity all the way toward the new Kettle system. We overlaid two research studies to validate that the new design both outperformed the current and was preferred by loyal consumers. That dual confirmation gave Jackson’s the confidence to move forward without risking the base.
Variety is the package that flies off shelf.
2025/26 snack trend reports point to consumers wanting variety in products and flavors. So when Jackson’s took on the capacity to pack out variety packs on their line, we got the opportunity to reimagine what the Jackson’s brand looks like in the club setting packed out on pallets and in the variety and multipack grocery shelves.
For the variety packs, hero snack-sized bags sit cradled in the avocado oil banner to show the literal variety of different kinds of products inside– with the reason to believe clear as day.
For the multipacks, we explored a series of colors that were punchy enough to jump off the shelf but didn’t compete with the flavor colors. Sticker-like product messaging makes the boxes very legible and easy to love. Retailers are loving and embracing these new offerings.
The Takeaway for Brand Managers:
If you’ve got a product POD that your packaging isn’t communicating in under three seconds, you’re leaving conversion on the table. The chip aisle doesn’t give second chances. What made the Jackson’s work successful wasn’t one clever design decision — it was a disciplined, research-backed process that kept the brand’s real differentiator at the center of every choice we made.
Results
• 2 Logos
• 2 Packaging System Redesigns
• 3 Line Extensions
• 5 different languages (Jackson’s is worldwide!)
• 12 Printers Managed
• 17 different variety packs
• 144 total SKUs
• 246 snacks photographed
