Harry Specters

Marrying pleasure with a cause and helping a small chocolate company have a big voice.

Challenge: Winners of Channel 4’s Aldi’s Next Big Thing, the founders of Harry Specters felt that their small, family-run business was unsuccessful when it came to connecting with their audience, and also new people, who had no idea what their very unique brand was all about. So a new brand positioning, voice, and look and feel, was needed to help people see that this chocolate company has something to say. The challenge was being able to marry the idea of chocolate being about pleasure and hedonism, with a cause that wants to change the conversation around autism — and make a difference, too. And they didn’t want people to get the wrong idea. They are not a charity, they are a chocolate brand with a cause.

Solution: The industry is loaded with very generic chocolate speak and language, so there was a big opportunity to talk in a memorable way. This not only spoke to the conjuring nature of their flavours, but also trail blazed the very real cause that they embody: hiring autistic people to give them a sense of worth and a future. This positioning quickly became “Chocolate for change”. A clear rallying cry they could use to change the conversation around autism. We started to own a more magical voice that also had a pioneering aspect to it. It’s lively, welcoming, truthful and championing. And it gave us the basis for an exciting new brand positioning, so people would start to remember Harry Specters for both their “otherworldly” chocolates and for all the work they champion in the area of autism. Co-founder Mona Shah has since won an MBE for her services to training and employment for young people with autism.

Shift:
From: Chocolate and social impact are two separate conversations
To: Chocolate can be a force for change.

Brand positioning

Creative strategy and direction

Worked with in-house designer to create new look and feel

Brand voice creation and guidelines

Brand story

All assets