Spotlight: Food & Beverage

World's Finest Chocolate Opts for White Boxes and a New Premium Box for Eclat Goes Deep Into Brown Hues

The World's Finest chocolate retail boxes went from dull colors outlined in gold to an all-white line of boxes accented with a product shot and silver foil stamp.

Many consumers will recognize the World's Finest chocolate bars shown here from their childhood. They will recall selling these chocolate bars, packaged in their familiar white-and-silver wraps, door-to-door as part of school fund-raising efforts. They might also recall that the chocolate bars were actually quite tasty.

Two years ago, World's Finest extended their products into the retail market with trapezoidal boxes of four varieties. When these colored boxes did not catch shopper's eye the way they had expected, World's Finest sought the help of the Launch Creative agency in Chicago. "They knew they needed a lot of strategic help," says Bruce Butcher, v.p. and creative director at Launch Creative.

World's Finest knew they had inconsistencies in their logo presentation, a brand identity that was at risk of becoming dated and tired, and very little brand integration overall, but they also had a good idea where they wanted to be. They impressed upon Bruce that they did not want to lose the positive qualities of the long-standing brand, and they wanted a single message across the fund-raising bars and retail boxes. "We needed a look that would umbrella across everything," Butcher explains.

So Launch Creative did some serious qualitative research as to where the current brand stood in the category, and broke down the elements of the current retail box. Butcher calls the element analysis a "brand deconstruction" (based on semiology), where each element is analyzed in isolation, and a chart tries to elucidate the syntax/denotative aspects in relation to their semantic/connotative strengths. As it turned out, many of the structural and descriptive elements of the existing packaging did not convey the brand attributes and aspirations World's Finest wanted to achieve.

Research by Launch Creative showed that most successful chocolate brands had pictures of their chocolates on the package, except for the very high-end chocolates. World's Finest decided that was a trend that would be foolish to ignore.

Launch also graphed where World's Finest fit into the wide spectrum of chocolate products in the market. Quality-wise, the company was confident that consumers recognized the premium ingredients that went into every World's Finest product. Launch found that except for the very high-end premium chocolates, nearly all other brands featured photography of the product prominently on the packages.

Finally, Butcher explored the attributes associated with products in white packaging, hoping to support a direction he wanted to head. He found that white is perceived as honest, clean, safe, and natural. Butcher believed that the front window also emphasized this honesty and openness, and should be integrated into the new designs.

So the strategy was three-fold: 1) consolidate and update the logo, 2) add appetite appeal photography to the packages, and 3) convert all the retail boxes to white boxes with colored-coded "flavor bands" above the windows. This strategy would deliver retail packaging emphasizing premium quality, gain attention on shelf, be extendable, and translate easily into holiday and special gift opportunities.

Butcher says the logo redesign succeeded because the brand retains a resemblance to the existing logo but creates a fresh, contemporary look. "They bought into the photography almost immediately," remembers Butcher, who was especially happy to transition away from the colored retail boxes. The white and silver accented boxes are clean and strong. "White really repositions the brand personality with the sophisticated presence in the retail market that we wanted to achieve," Butcher says.

The old fund-raising bars and boxes were also updated with the new logo treatment by Launch Creative.

Tyler Jeffrey, vice president sales and marketing of World's Finest Chocolate, Inc., explains the company's philosophy: "Our strategy is to connect to our fund-raising heritage and brand in every segment we enter. To do that, we needed to both update our existing fund-raising packaging and logo, as well as transfer the key brand elements to our retail packaging. Launch was able to contemporize our existing logo and extend our brand across the entire fundraising and retail product line. They then took the key brand elements and developed a line of retail packaging that helps the consumer make the brand connection to the fundraising chocolate bars they know and love."

Launch has a continuing relationship with World's Finest, as they apply their strategies and capabilities in partnership with the prepress and printing house of Award/Vision in Chicago. Within their fund-raising business, they were doing two-color personalization for all the youth organization, club, or team names. Launch Creative has taken that way beyond what they were doing with four-color printing, vastly increased personalization possibilities with backgrounds, and the ability to include logos or team photos. On top of everything, they have done it so it can all be created, viewed, and ordered online. When an organization makes their selections for fonts, colors, backgrounds and upload their team photo, they can see an online PDF proof for approval.

Premium Eclat boxes express richness

The matte finishes and deep colors of the Eclat box surfaces convey a luxurious precursor to the delectable treats inside.

American-born master chocolatier Chris Curtin spent nearly 15 years overseas refining his craft and art. As the first American to be awarded the prestigious honor of Konditor (Master Pastry Chef) from Handwerksskammer Zukoln in Cologne, Germany, Curtin is one of only a handful of daring chocolatiers in this country to take a step back from modern confectionary methods to create fine, handmade chocolates by traditional means.

When Curtin decided to open a sophisticated yet intimate chocolate boutique shop in West Chester, PA, he hired the brand agency Paragraph Inc., in Philadelphia, to develop the boxes and supporting collateral for the debut of his Eclat brand. Paragraph's principal and creative director Bob Aretz explains how Curtin wanted a specialty box that suggested handmade and ultra-premium characteristics--a box that would live up to the product inside. "We really wanted to create a 'Tiffany's' box," Aretz says.

"I am obsessed with obtaining and using only the best chocolate known to mankind," Curtin says. While working with chocolate in its purest form (which leaves little or no room for error), Curtin is able to produce a richly unique and deluxe product. His "laboratory" is equipped with state-of-the-art machinery that enables him to maintain his own stringent measures. With the floors hermitically sealed and the entrances and exits air-locked, the Eclat laboratory boasts a pristine and sterile environment.

Paragraph began working with potential vendors "to create a box that didn't exist before." A combination of textured papers on the top lid and a "pegasus" black liner were all conceived in matte finishes to express the richness and quality of the chocolate. The deep brown colors are actually four-color process executed at nearby Anro Printing, where the foil stamping for the text was also applied.

Copy Director Dean Kline echoes the Paragraph team's satisfaction with the project when he says they created a box that expresses sophistication while also being humble and understated. "I think it's inviting," says Kline. "It's a really high-end product, but it's not unattainable."

The Paragraph team also designed the chocolate holding tray inside which had to delicately cradle a variety of unique shapes. Aretz explains the entire relationship between the sensory and tactile experience of the box and the rich chocolates inside as a unified relationship where the box has a definite purpose. "The anticipation level is what we needed to build," Aretz says.

Godiva Uses FiberMark Materials To Create Distinctive Packaging Godiva Chocolatier has launched a new line of Truffles with a luminous and luxurious look and feel that conveys the epicurean experience. The sensual brown color suggests the richness of the chocolate flavor, and provides a stunning background for the gold foil embossing of the Godiva emblem. The curved edge of the lid reflects the circular shape of each individual Truffle. "The package design evokes the sensory experience of the new Truffles line," explains Massoud Mansouri, senior art director for Godiva. "The material selection successfully conveys elegance and sophistication, enhancing product presentation, gift-giving and of course, consumption." The FiberMark material used in these boxes, called Iridescents by Corvon(R), combines color and depth to create a luminous shine that shimmers as the package is moved. Embossed with FiberMark's proprietary Bengaline pattern, the material has a depth that creates a luxurious visual and tactile experience. Godiva has also issued Limited Edition Truffles with a Limited Edition box covered in Iridescents, embossed with circular truffle shapes, and printed with several high-impact shades of red.