Crate Label, "Santa Rosa Brand Ventura County Lemons," 1927

As produce companies shipped crates of fruits and vegetables across the country, they needed a way to distinguish their goods from their competitors'. Colorful, eye-catching labels were created to attract the attention of grocers purchasing goods from wholesale markets. The Sunkist Growers cooperative featured an orange or lemon on the corner of its labels-- a logo that consumers came to associate with high-quality citrus.