Choco Champi – hazelnut spread

It was an unusual project: a distribution company contacted me with a request for a radical redesign of a nut spread label. What was the singularity of this project? A small importer wanted to radically change the face of a product produced by a large company. The brief stated that despite the high quality of the product (high content of hazelnut oil and low sugar content), the brand cannot compete in its own segment. The only reason for the failure was the absolutely unattractive design; that’s why the product was losing sight in comparison to other brands, and the appearance couldn’t make the consumers purchase it in any way.

I can’t say there’s strong competition in this segment. The market leaders were two brands: Nutella and the local manufacturer’s product called Shokki Mokki. The last one was chosen by me as a competitor. I decided to create a mascot, but in contrast to the competitor, I made it more familiar to the local consumer. So I chose the leopard as the strongest representative of the local fauna. This animal was perfectly associated with the image of a champion, which favorably marked it out from the other competitors. I created an integral mascot composition by drawing a champion medal on his chest, a sandwich with a spread in his right hand, and a glass with liquid in his left hand, indicating the composition of the product.

I also came up with a name for the brand “Champi”. It was obvious that this name was already registered, and to avoid copyright problems, I invented the small prefix “choco”. It was almost imperceptible to the consumer, but it made it possible to register this familiar word in the patent office.

In a short time, I studied the market, determined the brand’s weak points, created a new strategy, and then introduced a completely new brand that could compete with the market leaders. All these steps were performed by me without the involvement of third parties like marketing and copywriting specialists. Perhaps your business is also facing similar challenges. It doesn’t matter where you are from; if you are reading these lines, remember that you’re not alone. Just contact me.