When faced with the decision about what our client Christmas gift should be, the answer came easy when we remembered that chocolate is always a crowd pleaser. The true battle began when faced with deciding which flavour to gift. Tried and true milk chocolate? Vegan dark chocolate? Or something a bit more obscure like raspberry or mint chip?
After some discussion and a ton of very critical taste testing, we came to the conclusion that the best option was in fact, all of the above.
Luckily for us, Trade Aid – a leading social enterprise that sources a range of decadent and delicious chocolate – is a company that both Publica and Empire9 are proud to be partnered with. With a chocolate factory located in the heart of Ōtautahi, a superb selection of handmade, organic and fair trade chocolate and core values that support social change, choosing an assortment of Trade Aid chocolate was a no-brainer for our client Christmas gift.
With a solution that caters to a range of different tastes and dietary requirements and the difficult flavour decision out of the way, it was time to tackle our next big challenge: how do we turn an assortment of Trade Aid chocolate into a memorable and postable gift to show our clients our appreciation during the holiday season?
As fans of a cheeky beer tasting, we settled on displaying the range of flavours like you would on a tasting tray, arranging the assortment of chocolate bars in an ideal tasting order and showcasing the different details of each flavour.
With our idea set in stone, our design team quickly got to work, pulling together moodboards to find inspiration for how the gift could all come together. Clearly understanding the problem we were trying to solve gave us space to explore a range of different ideas and the freedom to reach a creative solution even when the realities of timeline and budget were brought in.
After working through the moodboards, our team began developing a concept for the gift box to demonstrate how we would display the selection of the Trade Aid chocolates, tell the Trade Aid story and showcase the Publica and Empire9 brands effectively together.
We then settled on a theme, which revolved around ‘Kiwi summer’, and our in-house design team began creating an illustration to personalise the packaging and bring each box to life.
By starting with a master illustration, we were able to turn the initial design into a suite of collateral for the assortment of packaging we needed for the box and tell multiple brand stories simultaneously.
Much like wine, beer and coffee, chocolate is filled with complexity when crafted with care. We wanted to ensure that those receiving the gift understood the origins of both the chocolate and Trade Aid itself.
Working closely with Trade Aid, our marketing team created a ‘tasting card’ with one side sharing the Trade Aid mission and how the company came to be, and the other showcasing the five flavours of chocolate we chose and the aromas inside each bar.
Thanks to Trade Aid and our in-house design expertise, we were able to create bespoke chocolate tastings for our clients. The customised box of delicious treats beamed with brightness and was a testament to how clever design can help elevate your brand storytelling.
