business backgrounder | branding
“ Mom, I’ m in love with the brand … but it’ s not cool. It’ s just faded and unappealing.”
— Ellie Thompson, senior brand manager
dozens of distribution channels. Plus, they tackled the website, maevechocolate. com, created by ViewSource, social media, advertising, and complex vendor communication.
“ We had to tell each and every one of our distributors, brokers, major accounts and tiny accounts about this with lots of notice so they wouldn’ t be caught by surprise— or stuck with a lot of inventory they couldn’ t use, which would be costly and wasteful,” said Thompson.
telling the story they’ ve always lived
Before the rebrand, that great story about ethically sourced ingredients, carbon neutral operations and deep commitment to cocoa farmers might have been buried in the About section of the company website.
“ We were too modest. We didn’ t shout it from the rooftops,” said Thompson.
Now, Maeve sees its new identity as the intersection of where ethical meets delicious. The rebrand spotlights what has been the quiet soul of the company.
They have found that this purpose-driven mission branding resonates with younger consumers.
connecting with the customer of tomorrow
“ Our number one mission, our big hairy audacious goal— as it was coined years ago— is to save chocolate,” Thompson said.
Now gamers, communities that want to have fun and love fantasy, and anyone looking to support a purpose-driven brand are new customer segments of Maeve’ s branding strategy.
“ They’ re looking for an escape, which I think is something millennials and Gen Z have in common. They’ re looking for products that say something about them, represent their values, and offer a little escape from the day-to-day drudgery.”
The three-year project proved to the mother-daughter team that it wasn’ t about fixing something that was broken— and it was about unleashing the full story.
“ We knew we nailed it when agencies and younger customers said,‘ This is the coolest thing ever,’” she said.
With a vibrant look, a story that connects, and a next-gen leader on deck, Maeve is ready to spread joy and flavor to a whole new audience that may not have found it before. And they did it all without losing the soul of the company.
“ Everything is exactly the same— except for the wrapper and the name,” said Thompson.
*** AWB Communications Intern Ariana Wilson contributed to this story.
38 association of washington business