Poulain: Gourmet journey through the rebirth of an icon.

The brand

As we saw before in our blog introduction, concerning the trends and conversations of the chocolate bars market, the main focus is organic, vegan, sugar-free, and gluten-free chocolates. With increasing awareness about the negative effects of synthetic products on health and the environment, most health-conscious and informed consumers have started using organic products.

Now, before knowing if this is also the case for Poulain chocolate lovers, let's find out a little about the brand.

Poulain has a heritage rich in flavor and tradition, incarnated in each square of chocolate. Returning to the 19th century, where Poulain made history by producing the first chocolate bar in France, the chocolate factory became a laboratory for creating chocolate recipes, which will endure through the ages with the same ambition: to delight your taste buds with every bite!

Poulain decided recently, thanks to the agency BETC Design, to completely revise their identity with the three following main goals:

· Reignite Poulain with its valued customers.

· Infuse a sense of freshness into the graphic codes of this category.

· Promote the 100% French identity of the brand.

To not being stuck with the “breakfast” image, they revised the color code and used a yellow color at the top of the pack for all the references. Each product category is identifiable by a dedicated color located at the bottom. The center of the pack is occupied by a dynamic focus on the composition of chocolate. The Poulain logo has also been redesigned. The typography has been focused to retain its authentic spirit with handwritten typography. The famous foal has been redesigned.

Furthermore, passionate, and firmly convinced that the current methods of intensive cocoa monocultures are no longer sustainable in the long run, Poulain has thrown its support behind Terra Isara's Cacao Forest project.

This groundbreaking research initiative revolves around a responsible cultivation model known as agroforestry. By embracing this innovative approach, Poulain aims to safeguard soils, foster biodiversity, enhance yields, all while encouraging crop diversification and boosting incomes for the hardworking producers.

Brand’s perception

Now, we wanted to know more about the reputation of Poulain on social networks. Thanks to Brandwatch, we were able to obtain those insights:

· Since December 2021, the brand has only been mentioned 95 times. 51% of them are coming from users on X (Twitter), then 32% from Tumblr and 13% from Reddit.

· 60% of the mentions have joy as their main emotion, it concerns mostly information about previous advertising of Poulain in old style (painted on walls in France) and the taste of the products.

· Moreover, 72% of the users that commented are males.

Surprisingly, I saw that the vast majority of the mentions doesn’t have the chocolate bars as topic, but trade cards and the Tour de France!

Indeed, I discovered that during the late 19th century, collectible cards were included in chocolate bars produced by the French company Poulain. These cards were often used as a means of promotion to boost chocolate sales. Chocolate Poulain trade cards have become very popular in France and have become prized collectibles. They helped to strengthen the notoriety of the Poulain brand and also left a cultural imprint. Some collectors actively seek out these cards on social networks and garage sale.

Moreover, I was also surprised to discover the link between Poulain and the Tour de France! In 1903, the first official edition of the Tour de France took place, and Poulain became the first sponsor of the yellow jersey, a tradition that still continues today. The yellow jersey, or "leader's jersey", is worn by the cyclist leading the general classification of the race. The association between the yellow jersey and Chocolate Poulain helped to strengthen the brand's notoriety during the Tour de France, one of the most popular sporting competitions in France and around the world. Thus, the relationship between the Tour de France and Poulain chocolate is emblematic in the world of cycling and sports advertising in France.

It’s crazy what you can find by analyzing mentions on social networks! Poulain is much more than a chocolate brand, its history and that of France are deeply linked, and Poulain was one of the pioneers in terms of advertising objects.

Sources :

BETC Design

https://betcdesign.fr/works/poulain/

Brandwatch

https://app.brandwatch.com/project/1998363651/dashboards/1581483