Have you ever noticed our logo? Our little cocoa pod is on all of our products and it means a lot more than what meets the eye. Yes, of course, we make delicious chocolate with the humble cocoa bean but the five pods of the cocoa seed have grown to mean much more to us than that.
We took some time to think about our brand DNA and what the business means to us. We started imagining our business as a cocoa pod and each element that makes it special as a cocoa bean within it, hence the logo was born. In Al’s words ‘If we can have five happy beans, we can have a happy pod’.
So, what do each of the beans represent? For us, they’re our five key motivations as a business; our customers, our suppliers, our team, the environment and innovation.
Globally, the last few months have been unprecedented and really hard to navigate for all of us. Over the next few days we'll be checking in across the ‘pods’ to see how everyone’s coped and what they’ve been up to.
First of all, I reached out to one of our customers who has been in touch with us before, Leon. I asked Leon how life has changed since lockdown. He’s living in London working from home full time, as many of us are, but noted that he really doesn’t miss the commute! With no socials or frequent gallery jaunts, it’s difficult to add structure to the weeks and find time to treat yourself.
Throughout the lockdown there has been such a thing as ‘toxic productivity’ – or the feeling of being duty bound to be super productive which can lead to anxiety and stress. To avoid this, it’s important to learn to switch off after work and make a clear distinction between work and home, even though both share a space. Leon has combatted this with daily morning walks, relearning to play the Clarinet and switching off with some guilty-pleasure reality TV to put work to bed for the day.
As a consumer, we’re in an age where everything is available at the click of a button. But in times like these, it’s vital that we make conscious choices about where we shop. Leon noted that ‘In my work I often think about the "health of the high street" and the small retailers who are going to be most impacted by economic downturns and a lack of footfall in town centres - I think that has made me very conscious that I need to do my bit. I really think this will be a long-term shift for me. It's amazing how many incredible independent stores you can find by just doing a quick google search instead of hopping straight on Amazon.’
Then I asked the really important question, what is your favourite ChocSoc product? ‘I think my favourite Chocsoc product has been my Easter Egg. I ordered it during lockdown when it made little sense to use my one trip out of the house to go in search of an Easter egg. I saw the Chocolate Society Easter eggs on Instagram and checked out the website. Classy packaging and a crimson red Easter Egg, it was definitely a little pick-me-up in the middle of the pandemic and an absolute bonus that it was coming from a little, independent, family business. ‘
It’s lovely to think that our chocolate is being enjoyed, even during a global pandemic, to brighten up people’s days in the absence of our normal day to day treats and excursions!
The featured image in today's blog was submitted by Leon, perhaps a working lunch...
