Cocoa Runners

Although chocolate is one of the world’s most loved foods, its industry – estimated to be worth around $131.7 billion – is blighted by exploitation and mass production. Cocoa Runners are on a mission to change that. A happenstance virtual tasting experience with the Cocoa Runners team awakened us to the world of craft chocolate and made it evident that their brand and online shopping experience needed to work much harder for them.

Cocoa Runners had carved out a reputation as the place to go for the finest craft chocolate the planet has to offer, but their repeat customer audience was still confined to the most loyal followers and subscribers. Celebrating their tenth year in business, they challenged us to help consumers access better chocolate, making conscious food choices that are better for people and planet.

Anyone who has savoured a bar from Cocoa Runners, or experienced one of their immersive tasting sessions quickly learns that craft chocolate goes beyond just taste. The experts at Cocoa Runners help people explore fascinating flavour by journeying from farm to bar. That’s why we crafted a solid brand identity and eCommerce experience that reflects the high-quality and detail-oriented nature of their extensive, meticulously selected collection.

Through a deep strategy phase, we uncovered two key audiences with distinct consumer behaviours. Blending a level of fascination and fact around chocolate, we developed a brand identity and messaging framework capable of setting Cocoa Runners as the expert guides for craft chocolate adventures.

We used typography in art deco style to tap into an ethos of high standards of craftsmanship and use of exquisite materials — directly reflecting the products Cocoa Runners source and the artisan makers they work with.

Wulkan Display type showcases an affinity for craft at a large scale, using Neue Haas Grotesk Text Pro for body copy provides authoritative modernity, with Sweet Sans Pro as a tertiary typeface primed for print notations, detailing and labelling.

Optimising exploration

To ensure that people could access craft chocolate from the finest makers on the planet, we set about improving the consumer experience of Cocoa Runners, both digitally and physically.

Utilising verbal and visual brand language to evoke the sensational wonder that chocolate provides, we improved experiential elements of Cocoa Runners, from virtual tasting kit boxes to Cocoa Runners Club subscription packaging.

Changing the way people think about what they consume, while embodying a fascination of food, required a streamlined website that is as functional as it is educational. Mapping out complex customer sales funnels into simple user journeys, clearly signposting subscription packages and enabling intuitive search options provide a fully optimised website.

To encourage an exploration of all things craft chocolate we streamlined product navigation by integrating an AI-generated search function. This technology uses dynamic synonym suggestions to boost relevance for keyword searches, enabling users to find what they’re looking for more efficiently.

This identity not only raises the profile of Cocoa Runners’ reputation for high-quality, but also acts as a considered collection to showcase the brands of innovative craft producers from around the globe.

We’re delighted to work with Cocoa Runners on their mission to improve the social, environmental and financial ecosystems of change-making growers and makers by giving them a desirable platform to share their stories and market their products.

People are now better supported to be conscious consumers and connect with the Cocoa Runners offering through an identity that clearly embodies the brand’s mission. As the brand and eCommerce experience communicates the benefits of the world’s best craft chocolate, in every sense, we’re hoping to create even more craft-converts.