Product strategist helping brands like Urban Outfitters, Miu Miu, Loewe & Acne Studios shape what’s next. I read culture, spot shifts, and turn them into future products, stories & experiences. Ask me anything on trends, branding, or product vision 👀

Victoria Diaz

Thanks for your question!Just to clarify — are you designing the packaging or the chocolate itself? Taste design (color, texture, aroma, ingredients) is a fascinating field on its own, but I’ll focus my answer on the visual and conceptual side of packaging design, which seems to be where your question leads. I'd go expressive way since food is becoming more and more an entertainment (more than food).

1. Study the audience & define what “premium” means:

Before deciding on a visual direction — whether minimalistic and serene or expressive and bold — define what premium means in the context of your brand and for your audience.

For instance, the audience of Ferrero Rocher may associate luxury with gold foil, symmetry, and indulgence, while Godiva’s audience connects more with quiet sophistication and the tactile quality of rigid paper boxes, die cut and exquisite colour palettes (rather than gold metal paper wrapped chocolate in big plastic boxes).

So, your first step is to study the audience and brand values to decide which codes of premium you want to speak through — opulence, restraint, craftsmanship, or innovation.

2. Understand the product and its ingredients:

Ask yourself what makes this chocolate unique.

If it includes functional mushrooms or adaptogens, a surreal, almost dreamlike aesthetic could visually express that cognitive or wellness dimension — hinting at the mind-expanding, sensory experience behind it.If it celebrates South American origins or native condiments, an anthropological or botanical approach might work better — think layered storytelling, tactile textures, or subtle cultural references that highlight craftsmanship and origin.If the chocolate leans toward a mineral, earthy, or elemental profile, you might explore a colder, refined palette inspired by stone, metal, or even extraterrestrial landscapes — positioning it as a sophisticated, modern indulgence.

3. Expressive sensory storytelling:

 Premium design today is as much about emotion (copy + naming) as it is about materials:

Think about how texture, typography, and rhythm of form can communicate a state of mind:

For a calming minimalism, imagine smooth matte surfaces, subtle embossing, and soft color gradients — a kind of quiet luxury that invites touch and serenity.For a bolder, expressive pause, play with contrast, tactility, layered materials, or even a hint of chaos — a design that feels alive and sensorial, celebrating indulgence as an act of release.

I totally recommend you also consider ritual — how the product is opened, unwrapped, or revealed. A slow unveiling, a magnetic click, or a hidden message can all become part of the emotional pause you want people to experience.4. Copy is as important as design:

Remember that copy is a key packaging element. Naming, keywords, and the tone of product texts will add personality and voice to your chocolate.

Make sure the naming, text, fonts, paper, and colors all speak the same language — all elements should resonate on the same frequency to create a coherent, premium experience.

Ultimately, play with all four layers — audience, product, emotion, and copy — work together to make your chocolate feel intentionally premium and aligned with the entertaining pause your consumer craves.

Also, here's the link to my last newsletter article on packaging directions. Hope these tips added some light to your creative process, and please keep me updated! I'd love to know how things are progressing :-)Love,Victoria,

Just to clarify — are you designing the 

? Taste design (color, texture, aroma, ingredients) is a fascinating field on its own, but I’ll focus my answer on the visual and conceptual side of 

, which seems to be where your question leads. 

I'd go expressive way since food is becoming more and more an entertainment 

1. Study the audience & define what “premium” means:

Before deciding on a visual direction — whether minimalistic and serene or expressive and bold — define what 

 may associate luxury with gold foil, symmetry, and indulgence, while 

 audience connects more with quiet sophistication and the tactile quality of rigid paper boxes, die cut and exquisite colour palettes (rather than gold metal paper wrapped chocolate in big plastic boxes).

So, your first step is to study the audience and brand values to decide 

 you want to speak through — opulence, restraint, craftsmanship, or innovation.

2. Understand the product and its ingredients:

Ask yourself what makes this chocolate unique.

 Premium design today is as much about emotion (copy + naming) as it is about materials:

 of form can communicate a state of mind:

 — how the product is opened, unwrapped, or revealed. A slow unveiling, a magnetic click, or a hidden message can all become part of the emotional pause you want people to experience.

. Naming, keywords, and the tone of product texts will add personality and voice to your chocolate.

 all speak the same language — all elements should resonate on the same frequency to create a coherent, premium experience.

Ultimately, play with all four layers — audience, product, emotion, and copy — work together to make your chocolate feel 

 and aligned with the entertaining pause your consumer craves.

 to my last newsletter article on packaging directions. Hope these tips added some light to your creative process, and please keep me updated! I'd love to know how things are progressing :-)

I'm working on a concept for a new premium chocolate product (made of milk and fine cacao), exploring what kind of calming pause people crave today. When life feels overwhelming, should it be minimalistic and serene — or expressive, textured, bold, and a little chaotic? 

Victoria Diaz

If you had to create a premium chocolate, what would it be like?

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Victoria Diaz