Once upon a time the people of Barú showed up at our door asking to design the packaging for a new product.
 Before we got started, we took a close look at their existing branding, product range and the according packaging concept. We were honest with them; what was missing was an overall brand story and purpose. What’s more, they didn’t differentiate from other brands.

We convinced Barú that they needed to think about their purpose, why they do what they do. We asked them about their passions, both professionally and personally. They told us they were passionate about mid-century design, ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ and ‘Alice in Wonderland’. One sentence from Alice in Wonderland captured what they wanted to go for “Crazy Bad Wonderful”. We took this as our starting point to create a complete new brand for Barú. A new logo, tone of voice, packaging concept, website and products were conceived.

We started defining a brand DNA. It served as a benchmark for everything we had to create. First came the logo. We wanted it to look as if it already existed for some time. Why? Because things that are around for a long time have a sense of familiarity. They reassure you that they are good because they survived the test of time. We wanted a logo that looked as if it were from a chocolate brand from the days that chocolate was your ultimate reward and joy. Who doesn’t have good memories of their childhood chocolate moments? Besides, we needed a signature brand element that could be used on all packaging and that could serve as a background for the product names. The pieces were falling into place!

We wanted Barú to be a playful brand, a brand that stands out. Crazy Bad Wonderful, remember? That’s why we chose to work with different patterns for every product range. They serve as a background for all packaging.

All product descriptions are handwritten. It emphasizes the handmade quality of the product.

The swirl that is used as artwork for the chocolate powders, is based on the motion of stirring the powder in milk but also on the iconic spiral used in candy canes.

While designing the Barú packaging range, great care was taken to create a strong
 and complementary visual language that lends itself to create appealing visual merchandise setups. This way we encourage sales points to play with the products and create an opportunity to make beautiful shop setups. This case is proven by the many concept stores and similar stores alike that use the Barú product range in their visual merchandising.

The whole of Barú’s visual language allows us to create a unique brand universe whether it’s in packaging, the website, exhibition stands or pop-up shops.