Background
Our client, Kuanza, briefed us on a new concept that they felt could challenge the status quo in the already saturated chocolate market and put Africa on the foodie map in a completely new way – with a speciality food brand, MIA, entirely crafted from farm to factory in Africa.
Our task was to develop a world-class brand and packaging design for this new concept, while communicating our point of difference to 25 to 40-year-old female chocolate lovers.
Strategy
Having a really compelling brand purpose was a brilliant foundation to start from, but the chocolate market is a busy one, so it was important that our brand could credibly compete with market leaders and luxury brands alike. This chocolate is made from high quality, single origin beans and tastes delicious – so our packaging design had to communicate this quality, and our ethos, while standing out in a very crowded category.
Creative
The name we chose, MIA, stands for ‘Made in Africa’ but also stems from the Latin for ‘My’, empowering all involved in this end-to-end organisation. ‘My’ also represents the end consumer. We wanted our brand to reflect all that it is great about modern Africa – vibrant, fresh and contemporary. Our brand marque is bold and made up of many colours and parts with bespoke patterns and iconography celebrating the communities that would contribute to the brand.
Media
Naming, brand and packaging design.
Results
Almost 40,000 units of product were shipped in late 2017 and early 2018 to continental Europe and the UK. To date, trade, press and online reception has been extremely positive.
