Anything but…Ugly Branding

Cooking up a lively brand personality that lives up to its name.

Uglies® Kettle Chips

Womelsdorf, PA

For reasons unbeknownst to the average Pennsylvanian, the Keystone State is the unofficial “Potato Chip Capital of the Universe.” The pretzel is well-documented from Philly to Reading, but dozens of family-owned, regionalized PA companies have been quietly producing the best potato chips in America for decades—a reality that has yet to be exploited in any marketing campaigns we’ve encountered. That’s about to change!

In 1964, a young Mark Dieffenbach began kettle-cooking chips from local potatoes and distributing them. Given the technology and processes at the time, these chips were probably pretty ugly (but they were also delicious) and the small company kept growing and improving. Three generations later, Dieffenbach’s Potato Chips are made in two improved plants—looking great and still tasting delicious.

The Dieffenbach family of chip makers wisely noticed two trends and decided to use their business to do something about them. In the new process a lot of imperfect potatoes were being discarded and ultimately wasted, as was the common practice. At the same time, world hunger was at an all time high so, in 2017, they introduced the Uglies® Kettle Chips brand—a chip that utilized the less than perfect (but still delicious) potatoes and pledged a portion of the proceeds from the sale of Uglies Kettle Cooked Chips to VivaKids, an organization that fights childhood hunger.

The Uglies® brand story was compelling, the product was excellent, but sales weren’t what they might have been—based partly on mixed messaging on over-designed packaging.

Elements

Strategic Planning
Corporate Identity System
Brand Standards
Character / Mascot Development
Packaging & POP
Sales & Marketing Collateral
Display Advertising
Apparel & Premiums
Event Promotion
Operational Support
Public Relations & Copywriting
Photography
Trade Show Support
Social Media Management
Social Campaigns
Website Design Assist

Uglies Kettle Chips Snack Food Branding Identity

Uglies Kettle Chips Character Design Illustration

Uglies Kettle Chips Snack Food Package Design

Uglies Kettle Chips Snack Food Package Branding

Uglies Kettle Chips Point of Purchase Displays

VFC examined the Uglies® problem with fresh sets of eyes and developed a strategic branding and packaging plan that gave Dieffenbach’s leadership options.

Once they made some business decisions about the brand and products, VFC conceptualized solutions and collaborated on their implementation.

VFC felt strongly about employing a high-profile character to communicate with the consumer, but it had to be executed professionally—the brand had experimented with characters in the past and the effect was juvenile and at odds with positive product promotion. While “Ugly,” the character VFC introduced, is personality-packed, he (she/it?) never overwhelms messaging on packaging, in advertising or on the website. Ugly is a playful, compelling, flexible marketing tool that accentuates everything the Uglies® brand is attempting to accomplish. And, not too long after, Ugly’s cousin, Sam (the Yam) came to be, and the rest is history!

”VFC reimagined our brand into a national competitor through creativity, passion and humor—which is exactly what we wanted. I have yet to encounter someone that doesn’t smile when I present them with our new branding.
Morgan SantoroMarketing Manager