“We want to make a chocolate” is a start, but not enough to quote or sample. A strong brief can fit on one page if it puts the key variables together.
Answer six questions
Which market and channel?
Who is the consumer, occasion and price position?
Which reference or catalog image number?
Recipe, form, packaging or label customization?
What volume, reorder cadence and timeline?
What is fixed, and what can move?
A strawberry direction might mean a small retail pouch or individually wrapped pieces for a gift box. Stating the pack format and quantity per pack is often more useful than naming the flavour alone. Mark undecided details as “to be confirmed” and discuss them during sampling.
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FRUIT CHOCOLATE · EDITORIAL GUIDE
Fruit chocolate: flavour first, or occasion first?
Usually, define the occasion first—then use acidity, sweetness, aroma, colour and texture to structure the range.
Blush Strawberry-Slice chocolate slab | Selection reference; confirm recipe and specification with the sample.
Gifting needs visual memory; everyday retail cares more about size and repeat purchase; cross-border e-commerce adds transport and labelling constraints. A strawberry, blueberry, citrus and passion-fruit family can share form or packaging, while flavour and colour create distinction.
During sampling, record sweetness, fruit aroma, texture and portion size separately. Also confirm whether the fruit character comes from freeze-dried fruit, dried fruit, a filling or flavouring, as this affects the ingredient label, texture and cost.
A gift box ties together product, material, print, assembly and logistics. Any delay can compress sampling and production.
Confirm structure, count, insert and transport before final artwork to avoid a design that cannot pack or travel well. Custom tooling, paper, foil or multilingual labels require additional proof and revision time.
Work backwards from the arrival date, allowing time for transport, packing, inspection, production and material delivery. Then agree dates for product samples, packaging proofs and artwork approval. Product and packaging work may overlap, but the final versions need to agree before production.
START A CONVERSATION
Have a direction worth discussing?
Quote the catalog image and add the sales occasion and timeline.
