Responses by Trevor Williams, partner and executive creative director, Young & Laramore.

Background: When Spangler Candy added Bit-O-Honey to its roster, the unappreciated candy was in desperate need of a push into the spotlight. Research found that its honey and almond flavor profile had potential to appeal to adults looking for a sweet treat on the lighter side. So, we helped Spangler relaunch Bit-O-Honey with an all-new look that updates the candy’s classic packaging in a vivid color palette and highlights its key ingredients of real honey and roasted almond bits. We even included an updated version of Bit-O-Honey’s signature bee character.

Design thinking: With this relaunch, there were a few things we needed to accomplish. First was repositioning Bit-O-Honey as a treat for adults—not a sugar bomb candy for kids. There needed to be a certain elevated maturity about it. Next, we needed to get the flavor profile right. The word honey in the name was only telling half the story, and we needed to focus just as much on showing off that nutty, earthy almond flavor. And we needed to tie it all into a contemporary design that pops on the shelf.

Challenges: Bit-O-Honey had been flying under the radar for a while, but it really is an iconic, classic brand. With brands like that, it’s always a challenge to figure out what should stay and what should evolve so fans still feel that connection to the brand, but it appeals to a new audience, too.

Favorite details: We really do love the new bee. It’s a kooky, wide-eyed spin on a classic candy character, and it gives the brand a lot more personality and something to say. It’s definitely got the potential to make an impact on pop culture, and we’re super excited for where we’ll take the bee next.

New lessons: In our research, we discovered there’s actually a pretty big demand for sweet snacks specifically targeted to adults. These snacks have a more mature look to them and have more nature-inspired flavors, most of the time. We found these kinds of snacks are the ones adults use as motivation to get through the day, especially in the workplace. That’s what inspired us to choose our target audience and position Bit-O-Honey as “a little chew to get you through.”

Visual influences: We looked toward that modern style of snack packaging that skews toward a less adolescent audience. Obviously, we wanted to pay homage to the classic Bit-O-Honey packaging, reimagining the bee and the red, blue and yellow color palette. We were also inspired by the honey and almond ingredients in the candy. We wanted to show off this rich, flowing, sort of decadent honey texture and create some stylized almonds with a more organic texture as well.

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