Kraft Peanut Butter
CPG | Brand Strategy, Repositioning, Brand Architecture & Line Extensions
Growing a brand that already owned the category.
Client: Kraft Canada
Scope: Consumer Research, Brand Strategy, Repositioning, Packaging, Brand Architecture, Line Extensions
Year: 2013 – 2017
Agency: Work led by Gambit co-founder Jeff Weaver during his tenure as VP at Pigeon Brands, in partnership with Kraft Canada.
The Situation
Kraft Peanut Butter owned over 60% of the Canadian peanut butter category. The packaging hadn’t changed in 22 years. New competitors were entering the market, the category was flat, and pricing pressure had begun to commoditize a brand that deserved better. The bears on the front of the jar were beloved but unnamed, limiting the brand’s ability to build deeper emotional connections and pursue licensing opportunities. The challenge was clear: evolve one of Canada’s most iconic brands without alienating the consumers who made it dominant in the first place.
The Strategic Challenge
No redesign in 22 years in a category facing new competitive pressure.
Bears with no names and no licensing potential.
Pricing dynamics beginning to commoditize the brand.
No clear understanding of which brand equities were truly untouchable.
Senior leadership understandably cautious about changing something that worked.
Our Approach
Rather than guess at what consumers would accept, the team built a methodology to find out. A comprehensive grid mapped every brand equity including characters, colors, typography, and structural elements, then deliberately stress-tested each one. Designs were created that altered or removed these equities entirely, and then taken into extensive focus groups held across Canada over two weeks of research.
The findings were precise. Consumers gave remarkable latitude on style, tone, and visual direction. But two things were genuinely sacred: the green on the lead SKU and two bears on the front. Not one. Two. Everything else was negotiable.
That clarity changed everything. With consumer proof in hand, leadership had the confidence to approve a sweeping transformation. The bears got names, Crunchy and Smoothy, along with fully articulated CGI wireframes and textures that brought them to life across every touchpoint. A custom typeface was developed to give the brand a voice that was entirely its own. The packaging was redesigned across the full line, with a new brand architecture and line extensions built on the strategic foundation the research established.
The brand identity extended far beyond the shelf. Pigeon’s design team developed collectible plush bears in partnership with Gund, complete with custom packaging that won a 2015 PAC Gold Award. Character costumes were designed for PR and events, bringing Crunchy and Smoothy into the real world. The packaging and retail display work earned additional PAC Silver recognition. The repositioning was supported by a national TV campaign, “Stick Together,” that carried the new emotional territory to consumers across the country.
The Shift
From unnamed characters to named brand icons with licensing potential.
From a static 22-year-old identity to a fully articulated brand system built to last.
From leadership hesitation to leadership confidence, grounded in consumer proof.
From a dominant but emotionally flat brand to one with genuine intergenerational connection.
The Result
Within a year of launch, Kraft Peanut Butter grew category share by 1.6% and delivered 7% sales growth. For a brand that already owned over 60% of the market, that’s not incremental improvement. That’s defying gravity. The 100,000 limited edition Gund bears sold out within days according to retailers, with subsequent runs continuing to sell out for years. The emotional connection built through the repositioning has only deepened, with a new generation of consumers growing up with Crunchy and Smoothy as part of their childhood.
Some brands don’t need fixing. They need the confidence to become more of what they already are. That’s a strategy problem, and it’s one we’re built for.