Cadbury's & Tony's  Chocolonely take on World Chocolate Day 

Ah, July 7th.  

If you’re British, it’s likely you’ve already marked this special date in your calendars, as England’s first Euros semi-final game in 25 years. But if you’re not British or all that interested in sports, July 7th can still be a special day for you. And that’s because it also just so happens to be World Chocolate Day! A day that’s beloved by all, when fellow chocolate lovers come together to celebrate the sweet, sugary treat, in all its forms.  

This ‘World Chocolate Day’, we wanted to go a little deeper. As the category becomes more competitive, with smaller challenger brands edging towards the strongholds in the market, consumers now have the power to ask for more from the chocolate brands they buy from. Taste, which previously underpinned most purchasing decisions, is now sharing the stage with other factors, like innovation and authenticity. 

Let’s see what brands have been up to this year to remain competitive.  

Consumer trends in the chocolate category  

Using ProQuo data and our 16 Drivers, we can see what brands in this space need to do to compete. Our 16 Drivers determine the strength of a brand’s relationships with its consumers. Develop these relationships and you’ll find your brand grows too, as a brand’s commercial value is closely linked to its relationships.  

Every category has four ‘Hygiene Drivers’, which brands must meet customer expectations on if they want to compete. These are highlighted in our matrix below in green.These are what people have come to expect from a specific category they buy into. And therefore, any new brand that’s hoping to enter this space, must first focus on these areas to ensure they’re covering all the right bases.  

In the chocolate category, for example, the most important Drivers for consumers are Accessibility, Familiarity, Popularity and Performance. 

In addition to Hygiene Drivers, there are also Opportunity Drivers that brands can focus on to get ahead of the competition, or disrupt the category. These are the Drivers that are highlighted in red, and they indicate needs that aren’t currently being met by brands in the category, and they are needs that customers don’t expect brands to be fulfilling. 

Excel in one or two of these spaces and you’re golden. These areas will differentiate your brand. In this case, we can see Innovation and Transparency are two needs that aren’t being delivered on. 

With these Drivers in mind, let’s see what brands in this space are doing to keep ahead.  

Green & Black’s 

Earlier this year, Green & Black’s launched a campaign called ‘Wildly. Deliciously. Organic.’ But instead of portraying a glamorized view of nature through elegant, still shots, the campaign showed an alternative view, focusing on the rugged, raw elements of nature. The Transparency Driver is at play here, as Green & Black’s are being open and honest about their processes, ingredients and the steps to making their final products, which is bound to create trust and drive stronger relationships.  

The Creative Director behind the campaign, Caroline Rawlings, explained her intentions, “We wanted to create a campaign that completely immersed you in the flavours of nature. Not the serene nature that we’re used to associating with organic food, but the wild, brutal, visceral, unadulterated nature where the best organic flavours are enjoyed.”  You can watch the ad, here. 

Galaxy 

Galaxy has given 2021 their all. The end of 2020 marked the end of Galaxy’s old packaging.  The brand, which has been going for 60+ years, unveiled a new pack design, aiming to modernize and boost relevancy in market. It’s sleek, clean and confident, and is a great example of a brand using Relevancy to boost their appeal.  

The brand also isn’t stopping there and is focusing on Innovation with several new product developments this year, including Galaxy Fusions.

The brand is already ahead of the curve with their thriving vegan range, and our ProQuo data shows us they are now leading the category on Aspiration, Differentiation, Innovation and Integrity.

Tony's Chocolonely

Challenger brand, Tony’s Chocolonely went bold earlier this year with a new campaign titled ‘Sweet Solution’. Every Tony’s bar is 100% slavery free. And with this new campaign, the company intends to create change within the chocolate industry by holding other businesses accountable for modern slavery and child labor within their supply chains.

Tony’s created four new bars with packaging that mirrored existing chocolate brands. They wanted to prove that all chocolate, despite looking different, can be enjoyed without guilt. This is a clear example of a company with Integrity. Here, Tony’s are doing the right thing, standing up for their mission and going a step further by trying to create change outside their own company.

Cadbury’s

Over the last 6 months, we’ve seen Driver Scores drop across the board for chocolate brands, but Cadbury’s have managed to buck this trend. And it’s no surprise why. This year, the brand showed off its human side in an advertising campaign that asked shoppers to support their local highstreets.

The campaign was released at a time when hundreds of shops were forced to close their doors because of the pandemic, with small businesses losing close to £69bn in sales last year. Cadbury’s are showing high levels of Empathy, getting to the heart of their customers’ anxieties and trying to assuage these with a thoughtful and emotionally provoking ad.

If you’re interested in learning more about our other 16 Drivers, we’ve got you covered. Check out our definitive guide to building a brand people fall in love with below.