tiny tides chocolate branding and packaging

overview

Sumatra is losing its rainforest at one of the fastest rates in the world—mostly due to unsustainable agriculture. At the same time, our oceans are drowning in plastic.

Tiny Tides Chocolate addresses both issues in a single, delicious product that consumers can feel good about. We highlight specific creatures from both land and sea that are either endangered or vulnerable, and donate to Sumaterra to protect our essential oceans and rainforests.

Challenge

Create a social good chocolate bar through branding, and the dielines for the chocolate bar. Create three unique flavors.

tools used

Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Figma

time period

10 weeks

The final packaging

Location

Background

Sundaland is the world’s 4th largest rainforest and includes Sumatra, Borneo, and Java, Indonesia.

Sundaland lost the world’s largest share of primary forest cover between 2002 and 2019. Borneo lost 15% of such forests, while Sumatra lost 25%.

Why?
Deforestation for oil palm and timber plantations
Fires set for land-clearing

This area of the world’s ocean is extremely biologically diverse.

Sundaland

Flavors

Our core flavors connect land and sea, and incorporate local ingredients:

Hibiscus & Dark Chocolate – a nod to rainforest flora
Sea Salt & Cacao Nibs – representing ocean minerals and texture
Pandan & Coconut – inspired by Southeast Asian plants

Future limited editions could feature new rainforest-ocean pairings to keep the product fresh and tell evolving stories.

Packaging

The packaging is biodegradable and compostable. We use natural inks that won’t pollute waterways. No foil, no plastic. Bamboo on the outside and a new scentless seaweed packaging on the inside. This represents the two ecosystems we are focusing on and avoids using trees for paper.

The process

This project changed a lot over time in terms of visual design. The concept stayed the same, but I moved from illustrating on smaller packaging to using Photoshop blend modes and photo-real creatures on larger packaging.

Chocolate packaging inspiration moodboard

I used blend modes in Photoshop to incorporate both ocean and rainforest imagery with each creature. My choice of method is meant to visually reinforce how interconnected we are and that we must take care of our precious planet. Each bar had a different recipe of blend modes, and this is how the pangolin version is broken down.

Luminosity

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Process in Photoshop

Exclusion

Normal

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Solution

Tint Tides isn’t just a treat—it’s a movement.

By blending rainforest and ocean imagery, and supporting both through our sourcing and materials, we give consumers a chance to do good, simply by enjoying chocolate. Education is a part of our mission too - and every chocolate bar has a fact related to the animal we are showcasing on it.

Tiny Tides aims to attract people through making one small purchase that will ripple outward across the world. Our tagline, “vines twist, currents drift, change moves with you,” reflects that sentiment.