For every five press releases I receive, on average, three describe a brand’s packaging or redesign as being rooted in “modern heritage.”

The phrase promises the best of both worlds. It retains elements of a company’s historic branding, the things people already love or remember best, while looking fresh enough for Gen Z to feel they’ve discovered something new. However, the more I see it, the clearer it becomes that “modern heritage” mainly exists to comfort the risk-averse; it implies continuity and progress without committing to either. 

Like any catch-all label, it’s been stretched into strategic mush.