It’s been said, “There are four basic food groups: milk chocolate, dark chocolate, really dark chocolate, and chocolate truffles.”
Gulping Down the Entire
History of the World?
New York Times’ bestselling author Sarah Vowell wrote, “Just the other day, I was in my neighborhood Starbucks, waiting for the post office to open. I was enjoying a chocolatey cafe mocha when it occurred to me that to drink a mocha is to gulp down the entire history of the New World. From the Spanish exportation of Aztec cacao, and the Dutch invention of the chemical process for making cocoa, on down to the capitalist empire of Hershey, PA, and the lifestyle marketing of Seattle’s Starbucks, the modern mocha is a bittersweet concoction of imperialism, genocide, invention, and consumerism served with whipped cream on top.”
It’s no secret.
I am a coffee enthusiast (calling me an aficionado would be pushing it) and a chocolate snob.
I also think decaf is a tease, a pretense.
It’s like a couple that’s engaged for 20 years. (Take the plunge already or call it a day.)
Or your teenage daughter telling you “Kind of” when you ask if she’s pregnant. (There’s no “almost” here.)
Or a politician saying under oath, “I don’t remember.” (C’mon, we all know we’ll only learn the truth in a memoir two decades later when nobody cares or you’ve encountered something so bad that no one would consider saying anything to add to the karma you’re already encountering.)
All In or Not at All
Love, chocolate, coffee, pregnancy, rock concerts. There’s simply no halfway.
OK.
So I recently needed to revisit a couple of brands I previously had created and refresh them (with new consumer insights since the original projects were done) so they are as awesome as the products themselves. One is Legacy Chocolates and the other one is Coco Polo (the Midwest and New Jersey, respectively.)
About 10 years ago, I did the Legacy Chocolates rebrand which won awards, accolades and, most importantly, rapid business growth for Legacy.
They make great (and I mean great) truffles — excellent balance of imported chocolate with excellent ingredients, no bitterness, remarkable ganache and a perfect balance of flavors so the chocolate is always the predominant winner — truly some of the finest in North America from NYC to San Francisco. (Trust me, I’ve flown truffles in so I am speaking from personal experience: aka obsession.)
Besides Legacy’s chocolate packaging was their coffee mug shown here:
But concerning the packaging, I needed to create new boxes for 6, 12 and 24 truffle assortments. So I developed:
- 6 reasons to smile,
- 12 delicious ways to leave your lover, and
- 24 delectable ways to lose your innocence.
This started with an update of the logo adding some fine tuning and detail with an “inner stroke” on the letters as shown here:
Then, I had to delve into the very intricate panels which are very complicated puzzle pieces that must fit and be reworked to fit each of the different-sized panels. Here are some details:
You just saw some of the cool details that go into each of the panels with fun facts for chocolate lovers and even more fun for foodies, lovers of food trivia and anyone who enjoys design and fine details.
How Coco Polo Increased
Its Shelf Esteem
A couple of years ago, I worked with the wild team at Coco Polo to do a total rebrand of their line of Stevia-sweetened chocolate bars.
They are so good that New York Times best-selling author and healthy living advocate Sophie Uliano said, “This is the best sugar-free chocolate I’ve ever tasted…. the taste of this chocolate is insanely good.”
A couple of years passed and, while they’ve grown at a phenomenal rate, we learned some things to increase the consumer-friendliness of the label for chocolate lovers and decided to refine the rebrand.
Here is the first flavor to see the light of day:
I am very pumped over this evolution and am thrilled how this refresh adds a very vibrant color palette to this product line which will absolutely increase its “shelf esteem.”
For Those Following the Co-op Rebrand
Last week, I wrote about a rebrand that has been in the works for a 66,000-member co-op in the Midwest, one of the largest in the US.
Since then, more bits and pieces have been revealed. Here are some more goodies for you to enjoy.
And some of the product rebranding is now starting to see the light of day as well:
So, that only leaves the question: Why don’t real men drink decaf?
Honestly, I haven’t a clue. I simply liked the way the words helped the headline flow (this may be my last espresso speaking right now).
If your computer or mobile device came loaded with built-in “Advanced Aroma Technology,” simply scratch your screen on the shot below and enjoy the aroma of this freshly pulled espresso beverage. Ciao!
