A Chocolate Company That Is Here to Do Things Differently
Building a generous and sustainable brand universe for Kilian Schoen Chocolates
KILIAN SCHOEN CHOCOLATES, proudly established in 2019, is a contemporary chocolate company that is here to do things differently.
I developed a comprehensive brand universe covering brand identity, packaging design, e-commerce solutions, creative partnerships, sustainable practices, and the new boutique design.
Brand Personality
As a first step, I helped KSC find its unique voice and promise to its customers.
Started in 2008. Reimagined in 2019. From product to experience, KSC's fine chocolates & pralines celebrate the beautiful moments in life: pleasure, passion, friendship, emotion. Every day.
The chocolates are precious but never prestigious; everything KSC does comes from the heart – with a beaming smile and a wink of the eye. Like its sweet treats, the KSC brand is filled with good design, covered in artisan craft, dipped in curiosity, and sprinkled with kindness.
The KSC universe celebrates good taste and inhabits many domains. Playful and elegant. Charming and generous. Modern and traditional. Local and international. The hand-embroidered chef aprons read: Let there be fireworks!
The (Already Iconic) Blue Box
While designing KSC's new packaging, it was essential to create a sustainably sourced, highly recognisable and collectable packaging system that would stand out and stand for something. Plastic free, of course.
The signature KSC chocolate box is handmade in the heart of Bavaria by one of the world's most renowned paper manufacturers: Gmund. The rich texture of Gmund natural papers adds a visual and tactile quality, which results in a timeless confectionery packaging collection with a luxury look and feel.
Inspired by Yves Klein Blau and Yves Saint Laurant's Jardins Majorelle in Marrakech, the signature Gmund Matt 55 shade of blue embodies artisan craft. It is reminiscent of the endlessly blue Bavarian sky.
In addition, we have launched two limited edition collections, LOVE and HAPPY, to expand the product range and create timeless – and seasonless – gifting items. This system liberates KSC from partaking in the industry pressure to mass-produce seasonal items and counters overproduction and wastefulness.
Sustainability
The rebranding allowed me to identify further opportunities for KSC to optimise the brand through the lens of sustainability. This includes sourcing ingredients, packaging design and production, and implementing ways to make it easy for customers to make environmentally conscious choices – online and in-store.
To enable KSC to stay competitive in a crowded market without compromising sustainability, I developed a modular, plastic free, fully recyclable packaging system, helping to reduce plastic waste – one chocolate box at a time.
By gradually eliminating plastic packaging throughout the business and incorporating biodegradable alternatives, KSC has significantly reduced its environmental impact. KSC now uses custom-made, biodegradable, ink-free, plastic-free mailer-boxes, tape, and filling materials to ship orders and uses fully compostable cellulose foil to encase products.
I believe that by adding emotional value to the packaging and brand narrative, customers are more likely to repurpose, regift or refill their boxes. The REFILL & REUSE program offers a 15% discount to customers when refilling their chocolate box in-store and donates it to charities dedicated to reducing plastic waste ending up in landfill and oceans.
Further, KSC now only uses all-natural, locally sourced, fair-trade and certified ingredients. KSC is not a sustainable company – yet. But it is on a great trajectory to continue working on its products, packaging and communications toward becoming a proudly sustainable and independent business.
KSC now only uses 100% natural ingredients, regionally sourced whenever possible.
Collaboration
KSC's new brand image has opened many new doors. Collaborating with professions outside of the chocolate industry has enabled KSC to expand its reach far beyond its home and bring its delicious treats to London.
Early on, we were able to establish KSCxCreative. This initiative works with local and international creative professionals to harvest and explore the creative potential of the brand while retuning 85% of the profits to the artists.
Printmaking and illustration series by ⟶ Freddy Frydenlund as part of KSCxCreative (2019)
Made it all the way down here?
Check out these projects:
PODIUM
If this was your last chance to expressing free speech, what would you want to say and how? ⟶ view project
Tales of Topographic Oceans
Deeper than the eye can see: a printmaking series using bathymetry data of the Celtic Sea ⟶ view project
Have a big idea and would like to collaborate?
Please get in touch via info@kevinkremer.design
Visual Diary
