International brand design agency Design Bridge (designbridge.com) has unveiled a new brand identity and a wide range of packaging for Cacao Barry, one of the world’s leading suppliers to top chocolate professionals.

Cacao Barry produces and sells the finest-grade chocolate products for the restaurant and confectionery industries. A remarkably diverse range of chocolate origins and flavours is derived by sourcing cacao from selected countries and plantations around the globe, giving each product its distinctive taste profile. The new identity and design celebrates the remarkable stories behind these rich flavours, as well as the pioneering spirit of the company’s founder, Charles Barry.

Rugged spirit, refined senses

Design Bridge drew inspiration from Cacao Barry’s enduring spirit of discovery. When Charles Barry journeyed to Africa from his native Scotland in 1842 in search of the perfect cacao bean, little did he know that his fledgling business would one day set the standard in the world of chocolate. His rugged spirit and refined senses are echoed in the brand’s professional clientele, who continue his all-or-nothing quest for “perfection through expression” today.

Cacao Barry’s new packaging unlocks the full sensorial richness of the taste experience that true craftsmen and connoisseurs thrive on. It celebrates the diversity of flavours and origins, giving pride of place to the cacao and it’s unique flavour profiles — from the rough and unrefined essence to all of the potential to come.

Drawing from the world of wine and terroir, Design Bridge developed a distinctive “periodic table” of flavour elements, which uses a combination of detailed botanical illustrations, technical x-ray visions of flowers, etched cacao illustrations and juicy watercolour paintings to reflect the diverse product range. By carefully selecting and combining these elements they were able to capture stories of flavour reflecting individual taste profiles and the art and science of the chocolatier’s endeavour. Key factual information about cacao content, character, fluidity and taste profile are easily navigable and uniformly referenced.

True to their heritage

“When asked how we could help Cacao Barry to own flavour, we knew we would have to look beyond the category for inspiration. As a B2B brand, we would have to look to the consumer world to make a real difference,” says Zayne Dagher, creative director at Design Bridge. “Our chocolate periodic table came about from an in-depth investigation and understanding of the industry, its talent and the ability to distinguish and define elaborate flavour profiles in their creations. With a fresh way to look at this industry, we’ve helped the brand follow their founder’s entrepreneurial spirit.”

"With the new design of Cacao Barry, we enter a new stage in chocolate, as we challenge the status quo that today is very much about brown indulgence,” says Joost Lindeman, senior global marketing manager at Cacao Barry. “With the new design we introduce the colourful and fresh world of cacao — the fundament of chocolate and something that is at the core of Cacao Barry since we started in 1842.”

“The very positive results we have received so far with the new packaging have been a result of working closely with Design Bridge. Great design results from a great strategy, and Design Bridge has proven to be great at both,” saysLindeman.