SmartyPants Vitamins Rebrand

Jun 3

SmartyPants Vitamins Rebrand

SmartyPants Vitamins began in a Venice, CA garage with a mission: make high-quality gummy vitamins without compromise. After its acquisition by Unilever in late 2020, the brand launched into an ambitious—but unfocused—rebrand. I was brought in to lead a full strategic and visual overhaul, ultimately reimagining all consumer touchpoints and 150+ SKUs.

Challenge
Post-acquisition, the brand had entered a disjointed rebrand effort that lacked clear direction. With major retailers on deck and Unilever aiming to scale, SmartyPants needed a cohesive visual system, a clearer voice, and packaging that could justify its premium price point on increasingly competitive shelves.

Approach
Over 16 months, I led the internal creative team of six, collaborated with department heads, and managed agency partners within a $1.2M budget. We redefined the brand’s tone and identity—introducing a more premium, science-forward system to reflect its superior ingredients—and rebuilt the entire design system from the ground up. This included a full packaging overhaul, updated brand guidelines, lifestyle-driven photography, and tailored campaigns for e-commerce and big-box retail.

Role
Head of Creative: led strategy, visual direction, and execution across all deliverables; managed the internal team and agency partners; partnered closely with marketing, product, and sales leadership to ensure alignment across consumer and retail channels; delivered a scalable, future-ready system for handoff.

Stakeholders
Unilever Health & Wellbeing leadership, SmartyPants executive and marketing teams, internal creative team, cross-functional partners in product and sales, external agencies.

Impact
- Consistent, scalable brand system adopted across all consumer-facing assets
- Walmart-specific line launched with strong shelf presence and early traction
- Positioned SmartyPants as a category innovator with the launch of the first-ever sugar-free gummy vitamin—broadening appeal and supporting product-led growth
- Rebrand contributed to SmartyPants’ role in Unilever Health & Wellbeing’s post-acquisition success—doubling sales across the portfolio and fueling nine consecutive quarters of growth (including €1B+ turnover in 2022 and 10.2% growth in Q1 2023)
- Streamlined internal workflows, reducing design friction and accelerating production
- Strengthened cross-functional alignment between creative, marketing, and product teams

Deliverables
- Complete packaging & brand redesign
- Comprehensive brand guidelines
- National campaign concepts and assets for Walmart, Target, Costco & Amazon launches
- Design and launch of the first-ever sugar-free gummy vitamin line
- Lifestyle photoshoot, renderings + stock library
- Handoff-ready creative system for internal marketing team