SKITTLES Celebrates Quirky Persona in Sweeping Brand Revamp

Mars-owned fruit-flavoured candy brand SKITTLES® has announced a fun-loving global brand refresh designed to amplify its capacity for storytelling and product innovation across international markets.

The new design system, created in partnership with global design consultancy Elmwood, is being unveiled across all its product ranges in the EU following a similar launch in China, and ahead of a wider rollout to the UK and US next year. It comprises a strengthening of SKITTLES®’ core assets, coupled with a wider refresh that harnesses the brand’s offbeat personality within multiple touchpoints.

SKITTLES®’ new-look packaging features fresh, more characteristic typography with a series of ownable quirks – such as an up flick on the letter K. The brand’s signature twisted upside down rainbow, meanwhile, is reimagined as a more vibrant and colourful motif. And its already iconic lentils now have a dynamic signature layout, with a sense of movement captured by flowing visual effects.

“In the first part of our work with SKITTLES®, we focused on evolving its master assets to make them more fluid – we let the rainbow shine and the lentils fly,” said Greg Taylor, chief provocation officer at Elmwood. “The aim is to make the SKITTLES® brand more distinctive to consumers, so that they can spot innovation and identify their favourite ranges more easily on-shelf.”

SKITTLES®’ packaging upgrade also focused on creating more consistency across its brand system. Using newfound visual continuity, SKITTLES® can now unite its many global markets on the basis of a fresh, adaptable design language.

Refreshing SKITTLES®’ pack identity set the stage for a much broader project led by Elmwood and the SKITTLES brand team, focused around dynamic product development. This next phase of the studio’s work involved tapping into SKITTLES®’ unique character to form the foundations of a new brand world experience.

“SKITTLES® has always been associated with this very distinctive tone of voice – it’s lo-fi, quirky and DIY in style,” said Paul O’Brien, design director at Elmwood. “In order to capture this very recognisable tenor, we developed a brand new design aesthetic. ‘Nonsensical’, as we call it, is our way of dialling up SKITTLES®’ ability to tell a great story. It’s joyful and freeing, providing an entertaining release from common sense – while remaining true to the core feel of SKITTLES®.”

As a design aesthetic, Nonsensical ensures SKITTLES® can stay forever relevant in contemporary culture by channelling trends and talking points in a playful, effusive way. In a crowded sphere, it magnifies SKITTLES®’ persona, enabling it to stand out to different generations of consumers – from seasoned SKITTLES®-lovers to new converts. 

On the one hand, Nonsensical’s light, anti-conformist tone resonates with people who grew up with SKITTLES®, and are nostalgic for a childhood treat. And equally, it helps to strike a chord with gen Z, and their absurdist sense of humour.

“Nonsensical elevates the distinctive appeal of SKITTLES®, allowing its brand voice to be deployed in a way that’s super-fun and inherently shareable,” said Paul O’Brien. “This is a tool that can be reinvented over and again, in relation to emerging cultural themes and on different digital channels. It could be used anywhere from social media posts to competitions or UGC-related content.”

This transformative potential will help to fuel innovation for SKITTLES® in the years ahead, forming the contours of an experience-led brand that can flex and have fun – while staying instantly familiar – in numerous markets around the world. 

“The recrafted SKITTLES® Brand World really celebrates the brands’ distinctive assets,” said Joe Gasparetti, senior manager brand identity at Mars Wrigley. “With this amplified design system, we’ve reimagined storytelling and ways to experience the rainbow.”