Cooking up a
premium chocolate brand
with Mars Chocolate
Mars Chocolate is one of the world’s leading chocolate manufacturers, with well-known brands including Snickers, Twix, Milky Way, Dove and M&Ms.
challenge
In order to build its reputation among professional pastry chefs, Mars partnered with the Culinary Institute of America to create a Dove premium chocolate brand, which would initially be available for use by chefs associated with the Culinary Institute, and then rolled-out commercially. The partnership offered a unique opportunity to bring together approaches for two different markets, professional and mass, to create a better, unique product.
“Mars needed help in defining and managing roles within the partnership and understanding the value each partner brought to the collaboration”
services
provided
- Opportunity and Needs State Analysis
- Competitor Analysis
- Partnership Strategy
- Brand Strategy Development
impact
The strategy for the new chocolate focused on a commitment to farmers and sustainable sourcing of ingredients, which at the time was common for professional brands but completely new for commercial products. The positioning promoted discovery and enjoyment from “plant to plate,” giving the product a purpose bigger than just chocolate.