The Challenge

A legacy beverage sought to rejuvenate its visual identity to appeal to a younger, trend-sensitive cohort—without alienating its loyal base. The goal was to modernize without eroding recognition, balancing freshness cues with brand codes that had long built equity.

Our Approach

We combined gaze tracking (to capture instinctive, system 1 responses to pack and aisle visuals) with spotlight sessionsacross multiple cities. The study decoded:

• Which elements stood out in the new pack (e.g., bold color choices, modern silhouette)

• What triggered confusion or loss of recognition

• How emotional reactions varied across cohorts (joy, nostalgia, surprise vs. alienation)

We also mapped Area of Interest (AOI) metrics to understand where consumer attention was drawn—across old vs. new bottles, caps, labels, and colors.

The Impact

While the new design achieved higher noticeability, it also introduced unintended cues—blending into the generic soda landscape and weakening brand recognition among loyalists. The output provided a clear roadmap for refining modern appeal while retaining the brand’s most ownable visual codes. The study also reinforced the power of pairing eye-tracking with semiotic decoding in future VIS journeys.