Successful branding allows the viewer to identify a product before even reading its name. The bright purple background and “Xtra Large” citrus fruit immediately signal one thing: Fowler Packing Company’s Dekoz. With exclusive ads integrated into the AndNowUKnow newsletter, the company earned the 2026 Best Email Ad Campaign Besties Award.
“Peelz runs a cohesive color system where each citrus sub-category owns its own color, so the magenta-purple does the identifying and the vibrancy carries the personality,” Konnor Cantrell, Creative and Design Manager, told me. “What we believe is that a trade inbox is a tougher room than most people treat it as. Buyers are there for the news, not for us. An email ad has a second or two to earn a look, and that means the brand system has to do the work before the copy ever gets read.”
Dekoz has a short seasonal window, so the ad had to work immediately, and every element builds on Fowler’s Nothing Peelz Better campaign platform.
“The constraint was real estate and competition. Three small placements had to signal the Dekoz color identity, tell the XL size story, introduce a variety that a lot of the trade is still getting familiar with, and read unmistakably as Peelz—all inside an email where we're up against headlines and other suppliers,” Konnor stated. “The instinct in that situation is to add more, and that's exactly what kills an ad this size.”
Fowler Packing’s vision has evolved right alongside the Peelz brand. The goal is translating that same energy into the smallest format the company works in, and its standard is simple: If it doesn't stop readers in the ANUK email, it isn't good enough yet.
“What we've learned is to trust one idea per ad. Early on, we wanted every placement to say everything. Now we pick the single thing that has to land and let the rest of the campaign carry the rest—the ads got better the moment we stopped trying to make them do it all,” Konnor added. “And we still come at every piece of creative wanting to enjoy making it. The fun our team has together is the fun you see in the work—that's not a strategy, it's just who we are, and Peelz is better for it.”
We would like to thank our Besties Committee for their time, dedication, and care in selecting our award winners. Reiterating the importance of relationships, each of them brought their own passion and standards to the process. Your contributions are deeply valued.
Each year, our team compiles the Besties ballot with nominations across all award categories, and our committee votes to determine the winners.
This year, the committee voted on every category except Retailer of the Year, Pillar of the Industry Award, Annual Snack Storyteller Award, and Innovator of the Year—four honors selected by our leadership team due to their special significance.
Please join us in congratulating Fowler Packing Company on the 2026 Best Email Ad Campaign Award. And keep an eye on the ANUK newsletter for more showstopping content. 
