Seattle Chocolate, founded successful 1991, astir met its extremity conscionable 1 decade into business aft the Nisqually Earthquake destroyed its manufacturing facility.
Jean Thompson, 1 of astir a twelve of the company's investors astatine the time, stepped successful to prevention it. She became the owner, salvaging the machines and transferring operations to different location. Six weeks later, erstwhile the CEO quit, she assumed that position excessively — and ne'er looked back.
In the much than 2 decades since, the institution has grown from astir 35 to 75 employees, does astir $20 cardinal successful yearly revenue, gives 10% nett profits to money projects to amended the lives of cocoa farmers and became c neutral successful 2022.
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Now the institution is undergoing a bold, imaginative rebrand, announced earlier this period — and changing its sanction to Maeve.
Image Credit: Courtesy of Maeve
"In different regions, while we could get distribution, the consumers didn't propulsion it disconnected the shelf."
Thompson had ne'er liked the sanction Seattle Chocolate, noting it felt excessively limiting and regionally tied. "The information was location that we did really good successful our ain backyard, successful the Pacific Northwest," Thompson explains, "but successful different regions, while we could get distribution, the consumers didn't propulsion it disconnected the shelf."
But the institution had been Seattle Chocolate for complete 20 years. Thompson thought the clip to revamp its name had travel and gone.
However, a speech pinch her girl Ellie Thompson, the company's marque manager, changed her perspective. "She said, 'I emotion Seattle Chocolate, but it's not cool,'" Thompson recalls.
Thompson agreed, and eager to make the marque appealing to caller audiences for illustration Gen Z, she group retired to springiness it a makeover.
" I'm an evergreen company," Thompson says. "I don't want to flip; I don't want to conscionable waste the company. I want to put successful it successful a measurement that it will beryllium astir everlastingly because I deliberation that's erstwhile you really tin make a difference."
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"[It's] this really whimsical [design], and it almost takes you to a spot of fantasy."
Few group cognize that the institution is woman-owned, truthful they wanted to lead pinch a sanction indicating that, Thompson says. Still, landing connected the company's caller sanction and branding took astir a twelvemonth — and wasn't without its challenges.
Ultimately, Thompson worked pinch 3 different agencies connected the rebrand. The first agency gave them a sanction that a batch of group liked, but Thompson wasn't sold. In the end, they couldn't get the trademark, truthful it was backmost to the drafting board.
A 2nd agency would thief pinch the brand's caller name. Thompson quipped to the squad that the "chocolate goddess" had been looking retired for her by preventing the trademark, and that group them down a caller imaginative path: goddess names. "Maeve" was 1 of them — and it resonated connected dual fronts.
"She is simply a first-century Irish warrior queen who believes women are equals," Thompson says, "and whenever I show that story, I spell like, 'Wow. Novel concept.' She besides [hailed] from the region of Ireland that my grandparents were from. So I'm like, I deliberation she's my girl."
Image Credit: Courtesy of Maeve
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Thompson worked pinch a 3rd agency to create the branding creation that exists today.
Now, Maeve's colorful homepage, move pinch illustrations of waves, a vessel and a mermaid, invites visitors to "Come pinch america to a faraway land" earlier giving measurement to different show that reintroduces Seattle Chocolate arsenic Maeve, "where ethical meets delicious."
"[It's] this really whimsical [design], and it almost takes you to a spot of fantasy," Thompson says. Chocolate itself is ever an escape, Thompson adds, but Maeve's caller branding offers consumers different furniture of escapism: replete pinch "tongue-in-cheek" product descriptions and a nosy formed of characters.
"You tin build a full imagination world," Thompson explains. "[The agency] moreover developed a representation for us. We want to rustle the doors disconnected of really chocolate's ever been marketed before."
"You person to travel your gut because you are mounting the people for this circumstantial company."
Several factors person helped Maeve propulsion disconnected an effective rebrand truthful far, according to Thompson.
First, Thompson made judge to impact teams crossed the full institution successful the process from the very beginning. It was important to get immoderate fears and concerns retired successful the unfastened truthful they could beryllium addressed, Thompson says.
The squad besides had to analyse each facet of the then-current product line. The reevaluation led to immoderate changes, for illustration swapping the "truffle" nickname to "bonbon" and axing definite flavors that were cumbersome to produce. Allowing ample clip to refine the merchandise offering — which took astir 3 years for Maeve — helped laic a coagulated instauration for the rebrand.
Image Credit: Courtesy of Maeve
Communicating the alteration to the company's loyal customers was besides basal and sometimes challenging.
Consumers successful the Pacific Northwest who'd loved the cocoa for years felt somewhat "betrayed" by the sanction change, Thompson explains. Maeve has met the "little spot of antagonistic blowback" pinch a committedness to supply the aforesaid value merchandise and committedness to its values.
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A captious instruction Thompson's learned complete the people of Maeve's rebrand — and 1 she recommends each entrepreneurs return to bosom — is conscionable really important it is to perceive to your instincts.
"You person to follow your gut because you are mounting the people for this circumstantial company," Thompson says. "You are the engine. If you don't spot yourself, past you're going to misstep and beryllium huffy astatine yourself. If you spot yourself, [even if] you travel your gut and you fail, [at slightest you tin say], 'But that's what I thought was right.'"
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