Tropicana is an American orange juice brand founded in 1947 by Anthony T. Rossi, who arrived in the U.S. from Sicily with $25 and began selling citrus gift boxes in Florida before pivoting to freshly squeezed juice.[1] The brand’s visual identity has centered for decades on a whole orange pierced by a red-and-white-striped straw, a device introduced in advertising in 1988 to represent the fresh taste of Tropicana juices.[2]
Design and History
In January 2009, under then-parent company PepsiCo, Tropicana introduced a radically simplified package and logo created by the Arnell Group.[3] The redesign removed the orange-with-straw imagery and replaced it with a minimalist white background, an oversized stemmed glass of juice, and a vertically rotated “Tropicana” wordmark.[4] Consumers reacted with immediate and widespread backlash, describing the new look as “ugly” and “generic,” and sales of Tropicana Pure Premium plummeted 20% between January and February 2009.[5] PepsiCo pulled the packaging after roughly seven weeks and restored the previous design.[6]
In 2024, Tropicana unveiled a new identity and packaging system created by Bath-based design agency Sunhouse Creative.[7] The redesign reinstated the iconic orange with the red-and-white straw as a key brand asset, described by the brand as a symbol of its quality and fresh-from-the-fruit taste.[8] The updated brand mark features a horizon arch with an orange dotting the “i,” paired with the phrase “The Original since 1947.”[9] The leaf that had long sat over the “i” in the wordmark was removed and replaced with the orange dot.[10]
Meaning and Symbolism
Sunhouse creative director James Giles explained that the studio repositioned the orange as “the protagonist in the brand story” and reintroduced the straw sticking directly into the fruit to underscore Tropicana’s commitment to delivering juice straight from the source.[7] The 2024 identity also added founder Anthony T. Rossi’s signature, hand-drawn illustrations of oranges, and a photograph of the original grove to amplify the brand’s authenticity and craftsmanship.[9]
Typography and Design
For the 2024 redesign, Sunhouse chose Brother 1816 as the primary font, a typeface with a rough, handmade finish intended to signal authenticity and heritage. The studio also reintroduced an arch to the logotype to create what Giles described as “a more unique and uplifting symbol.”[7] Very subtle changes were made to the color palette to emphasize the role of orange, with the hue incorporated into the brand mark and pack lids to increase visibility.[7]
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