Dairy Crest is ditching its traditional round and shallow Vitalite tub after 27 years in favour of a similar format to Utterly Butterly.

Vitalite's branding will remain the same and it will continue to use the green and yellow colours ­on-pack. Dairy Crest claimed that the new tub would be more convenient for retailers to display and consumers to store than the old tub.

The revamped design would also put a greater emphasis on the dairy-free nature of the brand, said marketing director Paul Fraser.

"We're keen to make Vitalite relevant to the changing needs of our consumers," he added.

Volume sales of Vitalite have increased 5.2% year on year, with value sales up 7.8% to £9.1m [Nielsen MAT w/e 23 January 2010].

The brand first launched in 1983 and claims to be one of the longest standing dairy-free spreads on the market.