BRAND IDENTITY DESIGN

Mopsie's Chocolate

POSTED BY ERIC D. BURTON

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Case Study – 2019

"Sustainably sourced, rich, and decadent chocolate."

Scope Of Project

* Brand Strategy

* Visual Identity

* Packaging

* Digital & Printed Assets

Design Challenge

What does an eco-friendly, organic, and sustainably sourced chocolate bar look like to American consumers?

To understand how consumers perceive eco-friendly and organic products, we began by verbalizing our intuitive insights with words, ideas, phrases, and concepts related to things that are considered to make the environment safe. These insights began to help us understand how we can better evaluate the production and packaging of our client's product before starting to conceptualize design ideas.

1

Discovery & Research: Getting Started

We worked closely with the client to learn about the origins of their ingredients and the process it takes to make a decadent and rich chocolate bar in their factory.

There was lots of precision and care taken in the processing of fresh ingredients, which included the Ghanian cacao beans. And by being able to see the amount of care they put into their chocolate; it was obvious that this was more than just a sweet treat.

Bringing In The Insights

Learning The Brand

There was a clear connection in the heritage of the owners' family with chocolate, but we wanted to learn a little more about who these people were, mainly what they enjoyed about New York. What was the connection between Mopsie's and their hometown? And how does that relate to developing a chocolate bar for it?

After our meeting, what we discovered was their long-standing love for the inner city; the noise, the smells, and the architecture, these three things were the DNA of New York.

The Opera House, the Hearst Tower, and the Chrysler Building we're three of the most prominent buildings the client named as being recognizable to the residents.

Top Insight

Chocolate was their DNA and these forms, shapes, and architecture are New York’s DNA.

And then, eureka! There it was. The company had a pride in the composition of its chocolate and also that of the city. Using these insights, we looked for even more connections and discovered that the Hearst Tower had the same shape as the company’s chocolate bar. Digging deeper, we discovered something called a diagrid.

A diagrid is a framework of diagonally intersection beams used in the construction of buildings and roofs requiring less structural material.

With this new information, we wanted to see how iterating geometric patterns using a diagrid would pan out for the Mopsie’s visual identity.

Top Insight

Using diagrids for building construction meant less material and less impact on the environment. This concept was also on theme with Mopsie’s core values.

Researching The Consumer

We took a glance at the perceived consumer based on client insights, and found that overall, environmentally-friendly marketed products have a high growth potential, which includes consumable products such as chocolates and candies. To some ways, we perceived that consumers purchase organic products with the intent to feel better about their health and eating choices.

Based on market trends, organic chocolate is expected to grow by 3% before the year 2024.

Consumer pain points:
The price of organic and sustainably-marketed candy is too costly.
Some organic candy doesn't have the same appearance as other candy, making it less desirable.
These candies can feel too sophisticated.
Flavor seems too unfamiliar compared to "normal" candy.
Candy is candy, so there isn't a benefit to buying organic, or sustainably-sourced treats. It's all bad.

Top Insight

Consumers are looking for clean and ethical ingredients. They sometimes want to see packaging that actually reads “eco-friendly.” They even prefer product labels that state the intentions of the manufacturer, and enough information that speaks to how their purchase helps the environment.