Dole says it is shaking up the salad aisle with a sleek new packaging design that resonates with the values and lifestyles of millennial and Gen Z consumers.
According to The Packer’s Fresh Trends 2025, millennials and Gen Z are leading the way in fresh produce consumption, with health being a key factor, as 81% of millennials and 79% of Gen Z cited “health reasons to get more produce in my diet.”
Among other reasons consumers say they are eating more produce, millennials rank highest in responding with “value/better bang for my buck,” (34%) and “because my doctor suggested I do so” (31%).
When it comes to what produce consumers would buy if price was not an issue, 35% of millennials and 22% of Gen Z chose value-added items such as salad kits.
Dole’s packaging refresh aligns with this dynamic, combining what the company says is a bold, modern design with cues of freshness, convenience and discovery to capture the attention of today’s health-conscious, explorative eaters.
Dole Fresh Vegetables/Bud Antle, manufacturer of Dole-branded packaged salads, has completed a packaging refresh of its Dole Salad Kit line to make it easier for salad lovers to choose, shop and enjoy their favorite all-inclusive salad experiences, according to a news release.
While intended to appeal to all salad kit users, which remain the fastest-growing segment of packaged salads, the refresh — incorporating compelling new colors, photography, ingredient iconography and callouts — represents an intentional nod to the growing number of millennial and Gen Z shoppers buying packaged salads for the first time, the company says.
The research-backed new look is set to be unveiled this month on the company’s 31 chopped, premium and classic salad kits at supermarkets throughout North America. To introduce the refresh, Dole Fresh Vegetables/Bud Antle has launched a money-saving offer good on any Dole salad on its Instacart page, starting Aug. 18.
David Austin, Dole Fresh Vegetables/Bud Antle’s vice president of marketing and innovation, says the Instacart offer will help customers visualize the extent of the redesign, which represents the first time in years that the packaging has been reimagined on such kits as Sunflower Crunch, Endless Summer, Sesame Asian and its five Caesar flavor varieties.
“The new packaging is meant to better communicate specific brand and product benefits to make it easier for occasional and frequent salad users to choose Dole Brand while reinforcing our identity as the premier provider of fresh foods,” Austin says. “Because they tend to shop differently, millennials and Gen Z are often motivated more by visuals, transparency and specific flavor, nutrient and ingredient claims than other consumers.
“Ultimately, we want more people to experience the flavors, freshness and convenience of a Dole Salad as part of our larger goal to increase Americans’ nutritional health through a diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables,” he adds.
Austin says that one of the goals of the redesign was to accelerate the growth of Dole branded packaged salads among millennial and Gen Z consumers, which combined account for 42% of the U.S. population and represent much of the growth of the segment. The company says it conducted extensive qualitative and quantitative research with millennial, Gen Z and older packaged salad users to measure packaging appeal, believability, clarity and impact on purchase intent.
