Founded in 2013 in Palma de Mallorca, Barceló Estudio consists of Creative Director Xisco Barceló and Art Director Estel Alcaraz, who specialise in creating flexible and dynamic identities. In 2020, the studio collaborated with the Madrilenian specialty chocolate company Cacao en Broma on packaging for Maüa chocolates. This sweet collaboration continued when Cacao en Broma enlisted their help three years later to design packaging for their newest bean to bar chocolate line.
The inspiration for the latest chocolate packaging concept came from the scientific name for the ingredient cacao, which is ‘Theobroma’, meaning ‘Food of the gods’ in ancient Greek. With this in mind, Barceló and Alcaraz decided to use eleven Greek gods as the focus, including Hermes, Poseidon, Hera, Zeus among others, as well as incorporating the story of each Olympian to highlight the unique character of each chocolate variety. The use of a monochrome engraved image of the gods is complemented by a different coloured label which doubles as an enclosure for the packaging and a way to differentiate the chocolates on offer.
The package was printed on offset using Arena Rough Ivory 250g/m2, which provided an interesting texture that contributes to the handmade quality of the product. Barceló comments on the paper selection saying, ‘The thickness allows a perfect stiffness and flexibility to support easy handling, printing, cutting and folding.’
Barceló explains that the base die for the packaging is designed so that it can be ‘handled and closed without any gluing’. He adds, ‘This is a formula to optimise processes and add value to consider our environmental impact.’
Paper: Arena Rough Ivory 250g/m2