REBRAND

REBRAND: Turning loose apples into a premium retail product.

Multiple boxes of red and yellow apples labeled 'missile apples' arranged on a wooden surface at a market.

Client / Category
Lenswood Apples — Premium Adelaide Hills fruit producer and grower cooperative

Challenge
A high-quality apple variety had no viable route to market after failing in pre-packed retail formats

Solution
REBRAND — creation of a standalone brand built for loose, per-kilogram retail

Outcome
National distribution achieved, consistent sell-outs before season end, and pricing at over 100% above competing varieties

Influx logo with stylized text inside a diamond shape on a black background.

CASE STUDY

A shopper with a woven basket shopping for fruit at a grocery store. The produce section features trays of red apples labeled 'missile apples' and pineapples on the side. There are beverage bottles on the lower shelf.

Built through a clear three-stage approach

Clarity → Visibility → Consistency

THE CHALLENGE

Lenswood Apples is known for producing premium fruit, grown by a collective of Adelaide Hills growers with a strong reputation for quality.

A newly introduced apple variety quickly proved its appeal. Once consumers tried it, feedback on taste and snacking convenience was consistently positive.

However, the route to market was the problem. The apple had initially been sold pre-packed under a different name, using packaging that conflicted with major retailers’ sustainability expectations. The result was swift rejection by large distribution channels.

The alternative — selling loose, per kilogram — introduced a new risk. The fruit was significantly smaller than standard apples and carried a materially higher price point. Without a clear way to communicate value, the variety risked being overlooked or misunderstood at shelf, threatening the commercial viability of the crop.

THE INSIGHT

The obvious move was to lightly update the existing look and lean on sampling to get more people to try the apple. But that wouldn’t have worked.

First, licensing rules meant the apple couldn’t be sold loose under its original name. Second, small changes wouldn’t solve the real problem: in loose fruit, most options look the same, so shoppers assume they’re the same.

What we needed wasn’t more awareness — it was a clearer reason to choose it. The apple needed a new name and presence that could hold its value in a loose retail environment, where packaging is minimal and difference is hard to see.

A man harvesting red apples from an apple tree, with a basket of apples in his hand, on a sunny day.
Close-up of ripe red apples on a tree with green leaves and sunlight filtering through.
A white plate with red and yellow apples, some sliced, on a wooden table with a light blue background.

OUR APPROACH

We started where the decision happens: in front of the loose fruit display. Then we built everything needed to make the choice feel easy and justified.

Key actions included:

  • Creating a separate brand so the apple could be sold loose without legacy restrictions

  • Choosing a name and simple signals that made it feel like a premium snacking apple, not a standard cooking apple

  • Making sure the packaging worked in loose retail — where the fruit is handled, moved, and often sold without any wrapper

  • Using bold outer boxes so the brand stayed visible even when individual apples were loose in the display

  • Aligning price, story, and presentation so the premium per-kilogram price made sense at a glance.

Influx logo in orange on black background
Laptop screen displaying a graphic design guide for apples, with illustrations of different apple shapes and sizes, and red text on a pale yellow background.
A laptop on a wooden desk displaying a presentation about Missile Apples, featuring their brand identity and logo in a pixelated red font.
Laptop displaying a color palette for Missile Apples with various colors and descriptions on a wooden desk.
Laptop screen displaying a graphic of red apples and Missible Apples branding, with text labels 'Visual language...' and 'Image holder' on a beige background.
Laptop displaying a colorful graphic with red apples and a cloud with the words "missile apples" in red text, set on a wooden surface with a blurred leafy plant in the foreground.
Laptop screen displaying a colorful graphic about missiles and apples, with the text 'little apples... explosive crunch!'

THE RESULT

The REBRAND unlocked national distribution across independent fruit retailers and supermarkets. Missile Apples consistently sold out across all states before the end of each season — despite commanding a significantly higher price than comparable apples.

Externally, the product achieved:

  • Strong retailer uptake and repeat purchasing

  • Clear differentiation in loose produce environments

  • Pricing at over 100% above comparable apples, per kilogram

Internally, the outcome was just as important:

  • Restored grower confidence and commercial certainty

  • Alignment across the cooperative around pricing and positioning

  • A defensible market position that protected long-term investment in the crop

Bus shelter advertisement displaying a mix of apples in the center with the text 'little apples... lunchbox heroes!' and the brand 'missile apples' at the bottom.
A colorful flyer promoting missile apples lunchbox heroes, showing a lunchbox with apple-shaped containers, surrounded by fresh apples and vegetables, with the text 'little apples... lunchbox heroes!'.

WHY IT WORKED

The result came from treating the product as a business decision first. Clear separation, confident positioning, and channel-specific thinking reduced risk and helped customers understand the value at the moment of purchase.

This same approach works wherever a premium product is hidden inside a commodity category.

IS THIS FOR YOU?

This case study is for:

  • Premium food brands under margin or distribution pressure

  • Producer-led businesses needing to justify higher pricing

  • Teams willing to challenge category norms with clear commercial intent

  • Organisations prepared to back a clear commercial reset

It’s not for commodity-led or price-driven producers, brands unwilling to differentiate or reposition, or businesses seeking cosmetic design changes without strategic intent.

A person shopping for red apples at a produce stand, with bananas and pineapples displayed above and beside the boxes of apples labeled 'missile apples' and 'little apples... explosive crunch!'

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