Blak is a new line of dark chocolate from fourth-generation pâtissier, Thomas Haas. The Vancouver-based chocolatier, sought after for his local handmade chocolates, pastries, and desserts, was looking to celebrate dark chocolate in its purest form. Simple ingredients and bold flavours are expressed throughout several products including Bars, Truffles and Cakes. The audience? Lovers of premium dark chocolate.

In applying the brand identity to the packaging, the goal was to delight the senses by building on the bold, rich taste of the product to create an indulgent experience. A key consideration of the packaging was to have it billboard on-shelf to become the in-store focus for launch, and long-term, allow it to stand apart from other chocolate products in the retail setting. To express a luxury aesthetic, a restrained colour palette of black and gold was selected and applied using a soft-touch packaging substrate. The black boxes, which feature gold foil on all four sides, are a nod to the product inside wrapped in edible black and gold artistry.

A testament to the success of Blak, the product sold-out at launch. To meet consumer demand, the collection was recently expanded to include additional dark chocolate products which continue to grow in shelf space. Beyond the in-store and online retail presence, Blak has been featured among corporate gift and loyalty programs by established global brands.

A brief history about Thomas:

He is a fourth-generation pastry chef who grew up in his family’s pastry shop in Germany – located in the Black Forest village of Aichhalden. His great-grandfather opened the Café Conditorei Haas in 1918. Every generation after that continued the tradition of the family’s Black Forest cakes and other local sweets. Following in their footsteps, Haas trained in his native Germany, and then headed to Switzerland, France, and North America, working in several Michelin-starred restaurants, before starting his own business in Canada.