A White Space in Dark Chocolate
Just under two years ago a new friend was introduced to us. He had spent a lifetime in chocolate and after leaving the big corporate world had a desire to craft a better chocolate. He described a controlled fermentation process that would improve the cacao bean flavor and bring more value upstream in the supply chain.
We started with an exploration of concepts to identify if a “white space” existed in dark chocolate. From our vantage every form factor, every story, every cause and every flavor had been tried in chocolate and it was not only fragmented, it was also saturated. We came into the conversation skeptical, yet open.
The white space quantitative research identified a few areas that had yet to be explored or where success had yet to be achieved within a crowded marketplace. But, the areas of opportunity paired nicely with what our new friend was capable of delivering... and a bit more. The controlled fermentation process he offered promised to retain more value within the farming operations accessed in Africa and South America. The flavor and health benefits could not only make dark chocolate delicious, but a daily habit demanding to be more than just your average after dinner treat.
The original theory was placed on the table, “could we craft a 90% cacao chocolate that tasted like 70% cacao?” If we could, farmers would benefit from a higher quality product and margin while consumers would get a pleasurable dark chocolate taste with real health benefits, and without the bitter end. We could change the relationship between farmers and consumers, establishing a brand consumers would sing praises about and farmers would reap the rewards.
The idea was enough to move us all from open skepticism to unashamed optimism. Our new friend went to his underground chocolate network (these things exist, you know) to find a bean source, a maker and a viable way to craft chocolate in the way it was always meant to be made. So, we started crafting a brand to contain his passion and vision. Anytime you do something that breaks with conventional thinking, it will take time to get it right. If it were easy, someone would have done it already -- right? It took time, more than a couple chocolate makers and an abundance of bitter words, but our friend crafted something sweet in the end.
We started to muffle the skepticism towards our outlandish concept, and turned up the volume on optimism (all the way to 11). Every person who tried it sang praises, and our little group of Capsule outlaws found a way to vocalize our “What If” in a way that gathered a choir of voices singing “Sounds Good.” It was hard to ignore the sounds of excitement stirring in all of us. We not only crafted a new chocolate, we designed a product form to make sharing these medallions of joy so easy.
The brand name, Verse Chocolate, was inspired by beautifully written prose that turned our ideas into something slightly more refined. The translation from concept to reality came in the form of a logo design and was further brought to life by a form-factor creation to match the brand’s innovative personality. A new relationship with chocolate couldn’t be delivered in a bar (boring), it had to be something new and unexpected, substantial, yet easy. So, we crafted every detail, down to the serving size, playing with the form-factor until we knew it felt perfect in the palm of your hand.
Using blood, sweat, tears and taste buds, we’ve worked tirelessly to get this chocolate to market in 2020. With everything so dark this year, we thought the least we could do was add some chocolate to it and make it just a little better for everyone. Everything in life can be made slightly brighter with a medallion of Verse dark chocolate. We are proud to say, your new relationship with chocolate starts on October 5th of 2020.
Please buy some here and, if you like it, we’ll gift some to someone who needs a bright moment in their day.
Provided by the chocolate that Does Dark Better, of course.
Your friends at Capsule and Verse Chocolate