Tony’s Chocolonely, the Dutch impact-led chocolate company, now loved by millions globally, has partnered with Chuck Studios, the creative advertising specialists in food and drink, to define the brand assets to make it even more distinctive.
Chuck Studios, known for its work with global brands such as KFC, Knorr, 7UP and McDonald’s, works extensively in turning brand values into effective food depictions, to achieve consistency and become remarkable and memorable.
Tony’s Chocolonely is known for its commitment to ending exploitation in the cocoa industry, as well as its bold, disruptive brand design and vibrant colour scheme. As a result, the chocolate itself was not the focal point of its marketing.
Chuck Studios was brought in to make the challenger brand’s chocolate look not just delicious but also distinctive, helping it stand out in a category saturated with brands that fall into a ‘sea of sameness.’
Initially, Chuck Studios looked at what makes Tony’s Chocolonely distinctive from competitors. The team decided that the chunkiness of the bar is its most iconic feature. The chunkiness is not just a size or texture; it’s a symbol of Tony’s Chocolonely’s impact, flavour and commitment to doing things differently – with its unequally divided pieces rather than traditional squares or rectangles being a palatable reminder to consumers that the profits in the chocolate industry are unequally divided. Chuck Studios found that when opening a bar of Tony’s Chocolonely, customers instinctively snap off the two bottom (or top depending on how you’re looking at the bar!) chunks and eat them straight away. For this reason, these two bite-sized and satisfyingly thick chunks hold a unique association with anyone who enjoys Tony’s Chocolonely chocolate. This consumer insight sparked an idea: could these two tempting chunks symbolise everything Tony’s Chocolonely stands for?
The team playfully named them ‘Neil’, inspired by Neil Armstrong – the OG of first things as the first man to step onto the moon, leaving behind a chunky, uneven footprint.
Neil represents not only the chunkiness of the bar also embodies the spirit of breaking loose and its broken sides show texture and inclusions.
Tony’s Chocolonely is on a journey to shine a spotlight on its uniquely shaped chunks, propelling ‘Neil’ towards becoming a distinctive brand asset. It will be featured in every touch point to become a delicious representative of the brand and instantly recognisable as Tony’s Chocolonely. It’s the most important building block of Tony’s Chocolonely’s culinary identity because of everything it represents. Therefore, how it is depicted is so important. Chuck Studios produced guidelines on how it must always be shown: broken off and never cut, never shown flat and always tilted to emphasise the shape and chunky nature, surrounded by chocolate crumbs and the filling.
In addition to this distinctive brand asset, Chuck Studios also worked closely with the team at Tony’s Chocolonely to develop branding codes that strengthen the brand’s presence, making it look consistent across every touch point.
Designed for all bars and flavours including: milk caramel sea salt, dark almond sea salt and the US Everything bar, Chuck Studios set to work on formalising what guidelines should be followed to achieve enhanced memorability and brand effectiveness.
#1 The Golden Ratio: The visual that achieves the golden ratio of wrapper and bar; two-thirds of the bar shown wrapped and the top third unwrapped, highlighting the colour and chunky texture of the chocolate bar underneath, as well the name embossed in the chocolate whilst maintaining the recognisable existing word mark on the wrapper. The wrapper itself is torn, not cut, exposing the aluminum foil layer underneath the paper wrapping, emphasising the quality of Tony’s Chocolonely chocolate.
#2 Balancing Bar: The bar always balances at the unique angle of 66 degrees, an angle that is derived from unique features in the brand’s existing visual identity.
#3 Paper Background: A Tony’s bar is always depicted on a real paper texture background.
#4 Colour codes: The paper background always matching the colour of the bar, defaulting to Tony’s Chocolonely’s signature red when a variety of bars are shown
#5 Inclusions: Inclusions are the ingredients inside the bars; a combination of whole, chunks and crumbs, showcasing the flavour profile and the chunky experience of eating a Tony’s Chocoloney chocolate bar.
Olaf van Gerwen, co-founder and global creative sirector at Chuck Studios, said: “Food and product depiction play a huge role in brand building. Developing a culinary identity creates a consistent and ownable representation of your food across touchpoints. In the case of Tony’s Chocolonely it was already a stand-out product on the shelves. The new Culinary Identity shines a light on the deliciousness of their chocolate and shows it in a unique way, so it becomes recognisable even without the brand name. We believe that the product will always be a brand’s strongest asset. We had great fun (and many nibbles of chocolate!) developing these codes that bring Tony’s Chocolonely to life in a way that feels true to both its brand values and the quality of the chocolate. While Tony’s Chocolonely’s mission-led marketing built the platform it stands on today, it’s the product that will truly set Tony’s Chocolonely apart in the crowded chocolate industry.”
Sadira Furlow, CMO at Tony’s Chocolonely, said: “As our voice in the cocoa space grows louder and our impact expands, we realized we hadn’t yet fully captured the visual magic of our chocolate. We needed a visual language that matched our purpose and passion. Our chocolate deserves to be seen in a way that’s as distinctive as its taste. Chuck Studios helped us craft a culinary identity that’s craveable, consistent, and unmistakably us. Now, every shot tells our story — and invites Choco Fans to taste it with their eyes first ”
