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Insights

Pink Salt Changed The Game And Not Because It Tasted Better.

Disruption works when it challenges category norms just enough to make shoppers pause. In this clip, we explain how visual cues can override default buying behavior and how to use that to your advantage.

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Description

Some categories invite experimentation. Others run on autopilot.

In fast-moving spaces like healthy snacks, shoppers expect innovation. They browse. They compare. They’re open to trying something new. But in commodity categories, think salt—behavior is automatic. White salt in a standard container is the norm, and anything that disrupts that pattern has to work harder to earn attention.

That’s why pink Himalayan salt broke through. The color created cognitive dissonance. Salt isn’t supposed to be pink. That small visual shift forced a second look, and that pause is everything at the shelf.

Understanding category norms is foundational to an effective packaging strategy. Sometimes you win by disrupting the system. Other times, you win by respecting it, keeping familiar shapes, structures, and expected claims so shoppers can process quickly.

Front-of-pack messaging, structure, and visual hierarchy should reflect how consumers shop that specific category. When you know what’s expected, you can decide whether to lean in—or intentionally break the pattern to create momentum.

Video Transcript

00:00:00 So in some categories like healthy
00:00:02 snacks, there's so much innovation, so
00:00:04 much products. And as a consumer, I
00:00:06 actually want to try different things.
00:00:07 So I'm very open to innovation. I'm open
00:00:10 to looking at new things. You have other
00:00:12 categories where the consumer is just
00:00:14 kind of nothing ever changes. And a
00:00:16 really good example I have that is like
00:00:18 think of salt. It's so boring, right?
00:00:20 It's just salt. And then some really
00:00:22 smart marketer found this uh place in
00:00:24 the Himalayas that happened to have a
00:00:26 lot of iron content in the ground. It's
00:00:28 just rusty salt. But if they just put it
00:00:30 in the same container, you'd have a
00:00:32 really hard time getting the consumer to
00:00:34 kind of change their automatic buying
00:00:35 behavior. And so the great thing is that
00:00:37 it's pink and they put it in a clear
00:00:39 case and you're just like, there's
00:00:40 cognitive disconnect. Your brain's like,
00:00:42 I don't get it. This is salt. Salt is
00:00:44 white. This is pink. I must look closer.
00:00:46 Those are the kind of things like to be
00:00:47 aware of what's different in the
00:00:49 category. And a lot of that comes to the
00:00:51 norms and how repetitive we are in
00:00:53 chopping or if we're more open to trying
00:00:54 new things. And all of that stuff,
00:00:56 believe it or not, can have a pretty big
00:00:58 impact on how you think about
00:00:59 strategically like the order of
00:01:01 information. And like the euththermic
00:01:03 and not every category needs those
00:01:05 really difficult jumps or leaps to
00:01:07 connecting something, but it's still
00:01:09 really related to the norms like in a
00:01:11 category. Sometimes you just kind of
00:01:14 need to keep the same say bottle or box
00:01:16 shape or else it just doesn't really
00:01:18 stand in or you have to kind of overcome
00:01:20 that. And so trying to understand what
00:01:22 are the category norms, what can I use
00:01:24 as a shortcut just because people expect
00:01:26 it. Sometimes we'll test some of these
00:01:28 claims. Now it gets back to like what
00:01:29 belongs on front of pack messaging wise
00:01:32 or visual. There's some things that are
00:01:34 so expected in the category that if you
00:01:36 actually don't say them, they just
00:01:37 expect them to be

Christy Lebor Partner & Head of Brand Development, SmashBrand

45 Articles

Christy Lebor is a Partner and Head of Brand Development at SmashBrand, a premier brand development agency championing the FMCG space. With two decades of Fortune 500 CPG experience, Christy harnesses her background from industry titans to infuse brands with a growth trajectory that transitions them from category disruptors to legacy brands.

Her portfolio includes:

Brand management roles at global giants: Kraft, PepsiCo, and Unilever.
Launching pivotal products: Axe Body Wash in the US and the original Dove Campaign for Real Beauty at Unilever.
Steering innovative product lines at PepsiCo: Gatorade chews, protein bars, Mio Fit, and Amino Energy.
Pioneering breakfast innovations at KraftHeinz: Just Crack an Egg
Leading the branded business segment and global innovation at JBS, the world's largest meat company in the world.

Prior to her tenure at SmashBrand, Christy's track record spans various senior management and development roles. Each role has honed her expertise in the intricacies of FMCG, enabling her to cultivate category advantages for brands. From SKU rationalization to directing pivotal innovation stage gates, Christy's acute expertise in FMCG has consistently placed her at the forefront of the industry. Her ability to make incisive, strategically sound decisions has been key in propelling brands to market leadership.

Her philosophy pivots on the principle that timely, relevant data, integrated with brand strategy, is the linchpin for brands aspiring to scale and establish market dominance. At SmashBrand, Christy intricately weaves this philosophy, ensuring brands are not just strategically poised but holistically developed.

Educationally, Christy is equipped with a BBA from The University of Michigan Business School, an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, and additional prowess in Private Equity and Venture Capital from Harvard Business School.

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Why Rao’s Soup Misses the Mark on This Packaging Design.

Rao’s is a pasta sauce powerhouse, but their soup packaging tells a different story.

This Retail Display Tells You Everything About a Brand in Trouble

A once-hyped CPG brand is showing serious signs of decline and it’s all right there on the shelf. In this short, Christy breaks down what the pricing, graphics, and display strategy are really saying (spoiler: it’s not good). If you’re in retail or brand management, you’ll want to see this.

Why This Parent and CPG Marketer Secretly Loves This “White” Bread

A subtle copy change. A clear packaging strategy. And a parent who also happens to be a CPG marketer, instantly sold. This is how Sara Lee’s “white” whole grain bread nails the moment of truth at shelf—by speaking directly to its real buyer with just the right message. If you’re in CPG, this is the kind of packaging move that moves product.

Wait, Sargento Makes Crackers Now? Not Exactly

Sargento’s known for cheese, not crackers. But when we spotted “Cheese Bakes” in Chicago, we had questions. Is it a cracker? Is it cheese? And what does Nabisco have to do with it?

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