WONKA

Reimagining a cultural icon — from fractured candy portfolio to one cohesive, magical brand experience.

When Janet T. Planet first engaged with WONKA, the brand existed as a scattered collection of unrelated candy lines — Nerds, Laffy Taffy, Sweetarts, Spree, and more — with little connection to its literary roots. As the strategic and creative lead, she guided a complete brand renaissance across product, experience, and licensing.

Janet led the redesign of over 300 SKUs, forging a unified visual identity and product architecture. She then reestablished a direct relationship with the Roald Dahl Estate, securing new creative rights and anchoring the brand more fully in its storytelling DNA. With their blessing, she introduced literary-inspired innovations — including the iconic Scrumdiddlyumptious Bar — bringing the magic of Wonka’s world to both mass and specialty markets.

WONKA’s cultural footprint expanded rapidly, with 90+ immersive retail locations launched through a partnership with IT’SUGAR — including a Times Square flagship that drew over 60 million visitors annually. She also brought the brand to life through boutique installations at SWEET!Hollywood, inventive merchandising, interactive vending, and new business models.

Over the course of three years, Nestlé’s U.S. confectionery business transformed from one of its least profitable units to one of its most. This revitalization contributed meaningfully to the $2.8B sale of the division to Ferrero in 2018