OUGD601 / Context of practice 3: Chocolate branding.

OUGD601.

PRACTICAL ELEMENT. 

CHOCOLATE BRANDING.

Nib mor:

Nib mor are a great attractive brand whom are organic, ethically graded and part of the rainforest alliance. Although there is subtle evidence of this information on the packaging, the main focus is on the flavours and textures of the chocolate for example; mint, crispy and almond. There is also a visual play on words with the brand name. 'Nib mor' in reference to nab more means to quickly take more of something, a visual shown via the hand 'nibbing' the chocolate. Colours are used to reference the product (chocolate and therefore brown) and the array of flavours (mint is mint green, almond is cream).

Pana chocolate:

Pana Chocolate is greatly attractive in its branding with an identifiable selection of attractive and simple illustrations. Whilst the packaging wholly refers to the product in colour (brown), the illustrations give some kind of aesthetic idea towards the added flavours of the product, which is also illustrated. I do however feel that the packaging would work better with a different stock, as the combination of words Raw/ organic/ handmade combined with said grainy stock appears to appeal to a niche group of customers, when the aim is to encompass all customers. The use of the box for packaging, and the inability to feel the shape or see the product gives the brand a luxurious feel when paired with the matte silver foil, which is also something to avoid, as spoken about by Steve Howard in his TED talk, on selling sustainability. 

iQ Superfood chocolate:

iQ superfood chocolate is the type of branding that I need to avoid. The whole brand relies upon the idea of being clever and smart, which can be seen as quite patronising. The bar is also labelled with the slogan 'The clever little chocolate bar' however this is not a selling point attractive at all to consumers. Customers do not want their chocolate to be smart, they want it to be delicious, tasty and mouth watering. Other than visuals that refer to cleverness, the others refer to flavour, however it can be seen on the original bar where there is no extra flavour that there is grass. This is an attitude that needs to be left behind in 21st century sustainable marketing. Therefore this chocolate bar is only attractive to a VERY niche audience whose number one priority and upmost desire is to purchase something that is organic and green. 

Ka kau:

Although Ka-kau does appear quite organic, this is done well and appears quite attractive. Using a pallet of attractive earthy colours the packaging nods towards its organic roots, also represented in a simple illustrative pattern of cacao beans appearing both natural and attractive. Although the minimalist labels appear quite luxurious, they in their minimalist style are also simple and easy for a consumer to comprehend.  

Organic Meltdown:

Organic Meltdown is another very green focused chocolate bar, which again focuses more on the selling of sustainability than the selling of the actual physical product. Sustainable products need to sell the physical product more than the cause, otherwise they might as well subtract the chocolate bar out of the equation. Using the word organic in the title of the brand is already a let down, when people picture organic, initial thoughts are green, leaves, earth etc which is not an appetising thought to associate with chocolate. When 21st century consumers go out with the intention of buying chocolate, they want something yummy and delicious, and if they find this, and then realise that it is also good for the environment, that is just an extra perk. 

Theo:

Theo is a great organic chocolate bar line that is appealing at the fore front for its bright and attractive packaging. The chocolate gives slight hints to its organic background, through subtle elements such as the organic, hand drawn and illustrated logo. The chocolate bar does mention that it is organic which it should, but it does do this in a glaring way, first and foremost is the name of the brand which has no obvious green connotations, and flavour.  Which as previously mentioned should sell the brand of the chocolate.