Photo by @harpermacaw
With Valentine’s Day soon approaching, there is only one thing that has really been on my mind. Honestly, it’s the only thing that is ever on my mind.
Chocolate.
According to the National Retail Federation, in 2016 about 50% of consumers surveyed said they planned to buy candy for their significant other, spending a total of $1.7 billion on Valentine’s Day treats.
There are so many different directions you can take when it comes to buying candy for your special someone: the generic drug store assorted chocolates, or the fancy chocolate you find at small boutiques in malls and train stations. Or even just a simple bag of M&M’s – when it comes to chocolate, I don’t discriminate.
One of my personal favorite chocolate brands, however, has a passion for more than just chocolate. Harper Macaw chocolate cares about conservation, and they utilize some pretty clever (and stylish) branding. This Valentine’s Day, Harper Macaw is inviting consumers to take a break from the generic, and reach for something that’s both delicious and sustainable.
Photo by @harpermacaw
Founded by a Brazilian chocolate maker and a US Military Veteran, Harper Macaw’s main objective is “to turn chocolate into a force for tropical reforestation.” The chocolatiers travel directly to cacao farms in Brazil to get to know the farmer’s practices intimately, and ensure those farmers are compensated correctly for their great attention to detail. In addition to being passionate about the quality of their ingredients, the makers of Harper Macaw chocolates also travel to confirm that their cacao producers harvest in environmentally and economically sustainable fashions.
Harper Macaw products help to protect the Brazilian rainforest, which is the second most threatened terrestrial biome, and as such, threatening Brazil’s cacao industry. Through creating partnerships with Instituto Uiraçu, American Bird Conservancy and Rainforest Trust, Harper Macaw helps to restore and protect vulnerable Atlantic Rainforests through every product it produces.
Though its ingredients come from Brazil, its chocolate is American-made, produced in Northeast Washington, D.C. Using state-of-the-art technology, Harper Macaw roasts, refines and molds all of its chocolate with great attention to detail before sending it out to retailers. However, the company’s detail orientation goes beyond just the product – it applies to brand strategy as well.
Each bar is cleverly named and stylishly wrapped in packaging fit for the most chic of coffee tables, making its food marketing stand apart from other boutique-y chocolate brands. Harper Macaw plays on upcoming holidays and the seasons, making sure to include Valentine’s Day themed chocolate bars and bon-bons in its latest online offerings.
Harper Macaw is especially appealing to D.C. residents because its chocolate bars play with themes of patriotism and politics. One example is their Partisan Chocolate: The (Very) Polticial Collection. Each bar in this collection is wrapped in an artfully patriotic paper featuring historic and political themes like that of “Taxation with Representation” (made from bitter cocoa nibs), or my personal favorite “Flip Flopper” which is made with milk chocolate, butter toffee and sea salt.
When it comes to chocolate, Harper Macaw has a whole lot of personality, and a whole lot of heart. You can feel good about your purchase of their decadent chocolate knowing that it not only looks and tastes good, but also does good. If anyone wants to know what to get me for Valentine’s Day, check out the company’s factory or visit one of these fine retailers where its chocolate can be found.
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Branding, Consumer Campaigns