Art meets chocolate: a 25-year celebration

Jul 16

Vivani, the organic chocolate brand owned by German food producer EcoFinia, this year marks a quarter of a century in business, unveiling new products and generational change in commemoration of the anniversary.

Known as much for its artistic packaging designs as for the premium, sustainable chocolate housed within, Vivani famously uses expressive artwork to give organic chocolate ‘a more modern look’. It was a creative concept born at the outset of Vivani’s 25-year journey, which has successfully given the brand a distinctive appearance and impactful shelf presence unlike any competitor.

The collaboration with artist Annette Wessel sees many of Vivani’s bars adorned with hand-illustrated depictions of cocoa pods, vanilla beans, chillies, fruits and nuts, while other designs use bold shapes and bright colours for fruity recipes and deep, earthy tones to evoke the taste of dark chocolate.

Now, an upcoming launch to mark the anniversary, centred around waste reduction, has given Wessel a new design angle. The Whole Cocoa Fruit Bar — available in Germany this year, with future plans for export — is a vegan bar ‘made solely with ingredients from the cocoa fruit’, and no added sugar. “Characteristically tart and yet with a sweet, fruity tang thanks to the dried cocoa pulp flakes, which are usually considered a waste product,” describes the brand. “This chocolate bar is Vivani’s answer to the continuing high demand for sugar-free chocolate products.”

Succession plan

Future innovations such as this will be overseen by new management following the succession of Noel Meyer (*left*), who took over the family-owned enterprise from his father, Andreas Meyer (*right*), founder of Ecofinia, earlier this year after a childhood immersed in the business.

“Even as a small child, I was surrounded by chocolate every day, was allowed to taste and evaluate new flavours and watch the works of art being created. It was truly amazing — constantly being surrounded by chocolate and witnessing how the Vivani brand evolved from an idea into what it is today. It was exciting to follow the entire process and see how everything grew,” comments Meyer, who will share the role with Gerrit Wiezoreck, co-managing director. “And yes, I still love chocolate! Perhaps even more, because I now appreciate the passion and work behind each bar much more.

“The entire world of brands, the chocolate industry and the topic of sustainability have always fascinated me. It was never a question of whether I would get involved, but rather when it would finally get started.”