Chocolate makers from the UAE (Dubai) contacted us to create a branding for handcrafted bean-to-bar chocolate. From the naming and identity to the product design and packaging, Backbone Branding designed each element with a fascinating story around the whole concept. We created the brand based on journeys through the ancient Orient along long-forgotten ocean routes and pathways. A journey from one country to another, meeting monsters and mythical characters.
The naming “Mirzam” is the Beta star of Canis Major, the greater of Orion’s canine companions. During the era of the Spice Route, Mirzam was one of the primary stars, by which sailors would navigate. As such it is representing the romance and adventure of bygone days – an era that we celebrate at Mirzam Chocolate.
The packaging line for “Mirzam: Monsters Collection” is our interpretation of fictional stories told by the Arab merchants to scare off their competitors from entering the sea trade, about mythical monsters, who blocked their passage and tried to sink and swallow their vessel with spices.
The packaging design is the illusion of a journey between myth and reality. The idea was to express destruction of the myth with an interactive packaging design. Thus, on the sliding sleeve, the monsters are clearly seen, as the merchants’ stories visualization. While you remove the sleeve, you will uncover the reality – where the shine of stars and ocean planktons create an impression of the fantastic mythical beasts. Based on this story we created five monsters to reflect the five inimitable mix of spices that the chocolates are made of. This fabled relation between the spices, the chocolate, and the monsters are vibrantly portrayed with fabulous corresponding colors. This mythical journey follows you even when you unwrap the bar and see the sea wave patterns on the chocolate which sums up the Mirzam Chocolate adventure.