Willow Tree Unveils First-Ever New Look

Willow Tree—a New England provider of freshly prepared, hand-crafted poultry pies, deli chicken salads and dips since 1954—has revealed a new brand identity, including redesigned packaging and a refreshed logo. The new branding elements visually reinforce Willow Tree’s fresh, easy-to-prepare family meal solutions and the simple, premium ingredients used to make them.

The goal of the overall redesign, a year in the making, was to update and contemporize the visual elements that instantly represent the Willow Tree brand to consumers while also honoring the brand’s heritage as a trusted New England brand for more than sixty years.

"Willow Tree’s wholesome, delicious foods have been a family favorite for generations,” says Walter Cekala, president of Willow Tree. “The Willow Tree name symbolizes family, quality and value, just as my father, Chet Cekala, intended when he started the company over 60 years ago. It’s important that our brand continues to attract new customers while still communicating our ongoing commitment to providing simple meal options that are thoughtfully created and made with fresh, natural ingredients."

The updates will extend across Willow Tree’s full line of more than a dozen varieties of products including: chicken dips; hand-crafted frozen all white meat and vegetable chicken and turkey pies; and fresh deli chicken salads ranging from Classic to no-mayo Avocado and Sriracha.

Key elements of the redesign include:

To raise awareness for Willow Tree’s new look and to reach a new customers, targeted digital ads in key markets and social media platforms will drive consumers to the new WillowTreeFarm.com where they can discover “Where to Buy” products and peruse recipes. Willow Tree has also recruited digital influencers to create and release high quality digital product and food photography, which the brand will use across various online channels to increase sales and visibility.

"As part of our redesign, Willow Tree is also taking a fresh approach to how we reach and expand our target audience,” says Alex Cekala, general manager of Willow Tree. “Social media is a vital tool for reaching our customers in engaging, convenient and innovative ways and as a brand we plan to continue to invest and grow our online platforms through original, attention-grabbing online campaigns.”

The new packaging will begin to roll out in stores in May 2017 with full distribution by the end of the year. In-store, eye-catching POS and retail displays, local advertisements throughout the New England region and a celebration at the brand’s Attleboro, Mass., retail store will all be part of the campaign to introduce consumers to Willow Tree’s new look.

Willow Tree chicken and turkey pies (MSRP $2.49-$10.99), chicken salads (MSRP $3.99-$7.99) and chicken dips (MSRP $7.99) are available at major retailers through New England and Florida, including Shaw’s, Market Basket, Stop & Shop, Whole Foods, Walmart, Roche Bros, Hannaford, Big Y and Trucchi's, as well as at the company's own retail store in Attleboro, Mass.