For brands with a rich history, the challenge often is to find fresh ways to stay relevant to new generations of consumers. “We don’t want to be the boring company that everybody’s parents remember from the ’70s; we want to be the younger company that kids are looking at our new graphics and saying, ‘All right, that’s fresher; that’s something I relate to,’” says Jesse Kelner, vice president of C&C Cola, Cranford, N.J.
Growing a brand that was founded in Belfast, Ireland, in 1852, the company has launched product line extensions, new labels, a new website, new partnerships and a new distribution channel since Mitchell Kelner, owner of Kelco Industries, Cranford, N.J., acquired the brand in the late 1990s.