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Neuhaus Rebranding

- Neuhaus’s modern classic makeover

Revitalizing a Belgian icon

Client:
Neuhaus
Awards:
Effie Belgium Awards Brand Campaign
2023
Bronze winner

Neuhaus is a well-known Belgian chocolate brand with a long history and global reach. Despite having a great product and presence in over fifty countries, the brand had lost its emotional connection with customers. The goal was to bring back Neuhaus’s original spirit and make the brand feel fresh and meaningful again.

Neuhaus had been focusing too much on selling chocolates as products rather than what the chocolates represent. The brand needed to shift from “what you give” to “why you give it.” This meant connecting with the idea of caring, which goes back to the founder’s story of sweetening bitter medicines to help people. The challenge was to bring this message to the forefront and make Neuhaus the perfect gift to show you care.

We created a new look called ‘Modern Classic’ that blends timeless quality with a fresh, modern feel. The copper ribbon became a key design feature, turning every box into a special gift and starting the excitement of opening it. The packaging is carefully made with high-quality materials and bright, fresh photos that show the chocolates in a new, inviting way. The brand design is flexible enough to change with holidays and trends but always keeps the core message of caring at its heart.

Neuhaus Rebranding

- Neuhaus’s modern classic makeover

+ Project information

Revitalizing a Belgian icon

Client:
Neuhaus
What we did:
Brand Evolution ,
Packaging
Awards:
Effie Belgium Awards Brand Campaign
2023
Bronze winner

Neuhaus is a well-known Belgian chocolate brand with a long history and global reach. Despite having a great product and presence in over fifty countries, the brand had lost its emotional connection with customers. The goal was to bring back Neuhaus’s original spirit and make the brand feel fresh and meaningful again.

Neuhaus had been focusing too much on selling chocolates as products rather than what the chocolates represent. The brand needed to shift from “what you give” to “why you give it.” This meant connecting with the idea of caring, which goes back to the founder’s story of sweetening bitter medicines to help people. The challenge was to bring this message to the forefront and make Neuhaus the perfect gift to show you care.

We created a new look called ‘Modern Classic’ that blends timeless quality with a fresh, modern feel. The copper ribbon became a key design feature, turning every box into a special gift and starting the excitement of opening it. The packaging is carefully made with high-quality materials and bright, fresh photos that show the chocolates in a new, inviting way. The brand design is flexible enough to change with holidays and trends but always keeps the core message of caring at its heart.

Revitalizing a Belgian icon

Neuhaus is a global premium chocolate brand. A Belgian icon with a superb product, a rich heritage, a presence in over fifty countries and a webshop shipping worldwide. They had just about everything to outshine the fierce competition. And yet, they didn’t. Neuhaus had lost its spark along the way. Operating from a retail mindset, it had lost track of what the brand was all about. We worked with them to recapture that essence and revitalized the Belgian chocolate icon from within.

The Idea

Neuhaus needed to engage with the customer on a more emotional level. So it shifted its focus from ‘what you give’ (a product) to ‘why you give it’ (an emotion). You give to show you care, a universal motivation rooted in the brand’s origin. Back in 1857, Neuhaus’ founder Jean Neuhaus, originally a pharmacist, soaked bitter-tasting medicines with sweet chocolate because he cared about his customers. It’s what Neuhaus articulated as ‘the gift of caring’. Using this as a foundation, we rebuilt the brand around a singular goal: make Neuhaus the ideal gift to show someone you care.

Neuhaus’ new foundation is a visual language we defined as ‘Modern Classic’. A premium forward-looking style combined with a profound respect for their craftsmanship and heritage. It establishes Neuhaus as a timeless, high-end brand in a modern context.

Fil rouge

The copper ribbon is our “fil rouge”. It’s Neuhaus’ primary colour, but also turns every box into a gift. After all, a bow marks the beginning of an unboxing ritual. You immediately feel the thrill of discovery. In execution, we paid supreme attention to details, using quality materials only. Every element of the packaging is thought-through and produced with the utmost care, resulting in an iconic, thoughtful gift.

Photography

Forget about dramatic shots against a dark background, this photography style breaks from traditional chocolate category codes. The bright, fresh images present the pralines as mouth-watering centerpieces.

Seasonals

Valentine’s Day, Easter and other holidays are key moments for Neuhaus. For those collections, we create stories that transcend the product. Whether romantic love or more general togetherness, each season’s sentiment is reinterpreted through ‘the gift of caring’. Every packaging design tells a story that goes beyond the product.

Creating a system

The brand identity system leaves room for the character of each individual product. It allows Neuhaus to change with gifting seasons and trends without losing its identity.

We didn’t just polish Neuhaus’ look and feel. We reconnected the brand to its roots and original intention: caring for people. We did this in a way that remains true to the brand’s history, but still speaks to the modern consumer. In a world overflowing with visual stimuli and a visually literate consumer, we created a brand that whispers instead of shouts. Using refreshing understatement to cut through the noise — a form of restrained elegance that leaves room for honest emotions.

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