How Peacasa Used Upsiide to Transform Packaging and Accelerate Retailer Growth

How Peacasa Used Upsiide to Transform Packaging and Accelerate Retailer Growth
Using Upsiide’s pack testing, Peacasa uncovered what truly drove shopper attention, and redesigned with clarity, consistency, and confidence.

Challenge

Peacasa’s packaging lacked clarity, visibility, and scalability: key claims were hidden, shelf standout was weak, and growth with new flavors and retailers was stalled.

Solution

Using Upsiide’s two-phase pack testing, Peacasa evaluated full pack designs against benchmarks, refining hierarchy, claims, and flavor differentiation with real shopper feedback.

Impact

The redesign boosted velocity by up to 128%, re-opened retailer doors, and gave Peacasa a scalable packaging system for growth and expansion.

When packaging costs you shelf visibility, it costs you sales.

For Peacasa, a fast-growing Canadian chip brand, great product quality wasn’t enough. As they expanded into Whole Foods, Loblaws, and Sobey’s, their packaging wasn’t getting noticed. Key information like flavor name and protein content was hidden or blocked by shelf racking. Retailers were passing, and new SKUs were on hold.

ā€œIf I couldn’t spot my own product on shelf, I knew customers wouldn’t either.ā€

— Aaron Johnstone, CEO & Co-Founder, Peacasa

The Challenge

  • Poor shelf standout:Ā The most visible parts of the bag, the ā€œgolden zoneā€ was dominated by a chip image, not purchase-driving claims.
  • Low messaging clarity:Ā Key benefits were hard to see at a glance and the team wasn’t sure what to prioritize.
  • No scalability:Ā The design didn’t adapt well to multiple flavors or new SKUs.

Peacasa needed more than a pretty redesign, they needed proof their packaging wouldĀ drive purchase intent.

The Solution

Peacasa partnered with Dig Insights and used Upsiide to take the guesswork out of the redesign.

UsingĀ Upsiide’s unique ability to test real-world pack visuals against competitive benchmarks, they ran aĀ two-phase study:

  1. Concept Testing – Measured how early designs performed on clarity, appeal, and purchase intent. They explored layout, messaging, and how consumers interpreted design elements like flavor names, imagery, and callouts like ā€œlight & crispyā€ or ā€œa new kind of chip.ā€
  2. Refinement – Tested refined designs against benchmarks for packaging success.
    peacasa

    ā€œThe two-phase approach was critical. The first test helped us identify what wasn’t working. That unlocked new questions and helped us reframe what we needed to ask in the second phase.ā€

    ā€œWe used the Heatmap question to go deep on design, helping us see exactly what drew people’s attention—or didn’t. We learned that the ā€˜a new kind of chip’ claim was too vague, and that ā€˜original’ as a flavor name wasn’t specific enough.

    ā€œUpsiide let us test layout, copy, and even flavor descriptors. Things we assumed were obvious actually confused people. That’s insight you can only get by asking real shoppers.ā€

    — Aaron Johnstone, CEO & Co-Founder, Peacasa

    Why Upsiide Stood Out

    Unlike other self-serve platforms, Upsiide could test full pack designs in context, capturing the real shelf experience, not just isolated claims.

    ā€œOther platforms we looked at couldn’t test visuals the way Upsiide did. For packaging, that was a dealbreaker.ā€

    The Outcome

    The results were immediate and measurable.

    šŸ“ˆĀ +42%Ā same-store velocity in one major retailer

    šŸ“ˆĀ +128%Ā velocity in another retailer (with some added support from pricing and in-store sampling).

    šŸ›’ Retailers who had previously passed came back to list Peacasa

    šŸ’¬ Parents reported kids asking for the ā€œnew bagā€, even though the chips hadn’t changed

    ā€œRetailers who had previously passed on listing us came back and said yes when they saw the new packaging.ā€

    ā€œThe 42% velocity lift came down almost entirely to the refreshed packaging. That was the only variable that changed, which was incredible to see.ā€

    – Aaron Johnstone

    What This Means for You

    Peacasa’s package redesign wasn’t just a facelift, it became a growth engine.

    With packaging clarity dialed in, they’re expanding production and eyeing U.S. retail.

    If you’re preparing a packaging update,Ā don’t guess.

    Test your designs in context, see what wins attention, and launch with confidence.

    Discover how Upsiide can help you get it right before you hit the shelf.

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    Whether you’ve got a specific project in mind, or you’d like to learn more – we’d love to hear from you.