On the shelf with Mexican products, Ortega had long been a familiar name, but by 2026, the brand needed a new boost. The brand, part of the B&G Foods portfolio, launched a major refresh across the U.S., aiming to regain growth and re-enter the battle for shoppers’ attention in an oversaturated market. The work encompassed nearly the entire brand image. The company updated its logo, packaging, advertising platform, in-store activations, and product presentation. The project marked the first major initiative for new creative partner Schafer Condon Carter, which was brought on board in late 2024.
The reason for the redesign was obvious. The brand had begun to lose market share in the Mexican food category. It has its former appeal to millennials and Gen Z. The new strategy was built around an idea familiar to anyone who has ever made tacos at home. The filling falls apart, the sauce drips, your hands get messy, and the table quickly loses its neatness. For Ortega, the joy of eating lies in this very process. The brand stops chasing a polished image and embraces kitchen chaos as part of the joy, freedom, and playfulness.
The entire new “Now it’s a Fiesta” platform grew out of this idea. The brand presents home-style Mexican-American cuisine as a lively, noisy, and emotional environment where what matters isn’t perfection, but flavor, energy, and the freedom to cook your own way. The advertising campaign also introduced the mascot Brotega, who became the face of this new direction. Throughout the entire system, there is a clear emphasis on the brand’s dual nature. The company was founded in the U.S. by a family of Mexican descent and has long existed at the intersection of tradition and innovation.
The changes are most evident in the logo. The previous logo was built around the large word “ORTEGA,” set in a bold, soft-curving font, in yellow with orange shadows and light highlights. Due to the relief, the word looked heavy and decorative. Above it stood a semicircular sun with short rays, and the entire logo was set against a deep blue background. The new version retains the overall structure but takes it in a different direction. The “ORTEGA” lettering remains the focal point, and the yellow color is preserved as well, though the letters have become simpler, flatter, and cleaner in form. Shadows and highlights have almost disappeared, but a thin blue outline has appeared along the right side of the letters, giving the word a light sense of depth without the old heaviness. The sun remains, though the rays have grown thinner, and the arc above the word has taken on a different curve.
The new brand identity system is anchored in Ortega Blue, which provides a foundation for the entire identity and helps the brand stand out in its category. Golden-yellow and white accents have been added, lending it more warmth and a festive mood. An icon with multiple meanings has appeared in the logo. In it, you can see the sun, a taco, a burrito, or simply a burst of good cheer. This ambiguity aligns well with the brand’s overall philosophy, which presents home cooking as a space of freedom rather than a set of strict rules.
The packaging has been refreshed in the same vein. It now features more energy, texture, and flavor cues, and the overall design pushes not toward a perfect picture, but toward a living process of pouring, mixing, and improvising. Through its new image, Ortega moves away from sterile neatness and brings back to the heart of the kitchen that part of the experience that draws people around the taco. Disorder no longer looks like a misstep for the brand. It becomes part of the pleasure, part of the taste, and part of the brand’s new tone.