Design Audit- Mirzam Chocolates

C H O C O L A T E M A K E R S

Design Audit Series

APRIL 2018

CHOCOLATE

Alyazia Alsuwaidi (60593 - Douriya () - Mohammed Shahid ()

Content What is an Audit?

The name “Mirzam�+ Concept Overview + The Logo Organizational Review Operational Mirzam Chocolate Winners Why Package Design is Important for Mirzam?

Differentiated Collections The Chocolate Process Chocolate Making Adaptibility + Customer Experience Customer Service + Mirzam Cafe Products and Menu Brand Review of their Identity and Message Vision + Mission + Values + Product Logo and Brand Identity Design Review Marketing and Advertising Photoshoot Kiosks and Events Special Occasions SWOT Analysis Benchmarking Recommendations

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What is an Audit?

What is a design audit?

A design audit is a thorough review of all the elements a business uses to interact with its customers. The audit starts by examining the visual side of the business first then moving into the company in detail. “An audit is the company’s core message, sometimes called a slogan, value or branding statement. You can think of a design audit as something like psychotherapy – a type of head shrinking, but for a business.

Without a process in place to monitor a business audiences’ touch points they run the very real risk of projecting an unfocused personality 1. A design audit helps and creating the visual identity that matches with the brands core values.

Why are we conducting this Design Audit?

The aim of this audit is to asses the performance of Mirzam as a company, as well the design elements that are integrated in the business. This is to make sure that the company’s processes are flowing as they should while maintaining their image and identity.

The name “Mirzam”

The Logo

Mirzam is actually the name of a star (Beta Canis Majoris), which is part of the Canis Major constellation. Mirzam is the fourth biggest star in the constellation. The Mirzam star is one of the stars that sailors used along the spice route to navigate through the orient (countries of the East)1 .

The store logo takes the name of the place itself, in this case “Mirzam.”

The theme of the store is inspired by the historical maritime Spice Route, and the cocoa beans are sourced from plantations located in countries along the trail like Vietnam, Indonesia, Madagascar, Papua New Guinea and India 2 .

The reason that the logo is not a symbol and the store name instead, is due to the fact that the name is a respresentation of the store. The name itself has more meaning than a symbol, because the store idea is based on Mirzam and the spice route, so the name is seen as the best representation of the store’s functioning.

Concept Overview Mirzam is the only chocolate shop in the UAE that actually makes their chocolate from scratch on spot. Focusing entirely on flavor, unlinke mass produced chocolate, Mirzam crafts its chocolate to do the very opposite, with varied flavors of top quality3.

C H O C O L A T E M A K E R S

Being located at the Alserkal Avenue arts and cultural district, is a hint to what the factory is trying to deliver. The area itself is known to be a spot for original and inspiring handwork, and that is exactly what Mirzam represents. Its concept is based on chocolate that is made and handled delicately which then are wrapped with highly creative pieced of work.

1 https://www.names.org/n/mirzam/about

2 http://tashkeel.org/artists/mirzam-chocolate-makers

3 https://mirzam.com/us/

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Organizational Review Mirzam is a small company that consists of a chocolate factory, a chocolate shop and a coffee shop all in one location. Taking into consideration the size of the place and the chocolate factory, it can be seen as quite tight in space, but that hasn’t affected their quality work, and all operations are up and running.

Mirzam is a one branch company. It operates on the basis of crafting real chocolate from single origins. All of Mirzam’s collections are crafted from beans originating from Vietnam, Indonesia, Madagascar, Papua New Guinea and India, countries of the spice route. What makes them stand out is that they produce bean to bar chocolate, pure in flavor with no added preservatives.

The three main ingredients used are cocoa beans, cocoa butter, and granulated sugar cane 1. Moreover, with the factory being their most important aspect, not only were they able to sell their chocolate but also opened up a space to allow visitors and customers to enjoy their chocolate, while smelling that pure cocoa aroma, at the store’s newly opened cafe.

WAREHOUSE 70-ALSERKAL AVENUE, AL QUOZ-DUBAI

D3 POP-UP SPACE BUILDING 3, DUBAI DESIGN

1 https://www.linkedin.com/company/mirzam-chocolate/

Operational Mirzam Mirzam’s number of employees ranges from 11 to 50 people. With a smaller number of workers, the quality of the work produced can be easily controlled; the quality of the chocolates and the service of the cafe and relationship with the customer can be easily monitored too. With a few number of workers, a family oriented space is created. Everyone is treated fairly and with the same attitude; what is required of one is required of the other. Hence, all of the workers have the same shift hours. That being said, the production process is designed to be transparent, the customer service is very friendly and Mirzam’s store experience allows you to try the chocolates and see which one best suits your taste. Also, tours and talks about the factory itself is free, with that you can enjoy every aspect of chocolate making at the factory, from roasting our cocoa beans to pouring them into moulds, to hand wrapping each and every bar depending on its flavor 1.

Mirzam doesn’t have a large scale of organizational structure because it only started its operations in the second quarter of last year. The company’s Chief Chocolate Officer, Kathy Johnson, and her mother handle all of the tasks concerning tasting the chocolate for production, marketing and advertisement.

In addition, the chocolate factory consists of the chocolate makers and the coffee shop consists of two baristas. All employees are well aware and informed about the chocolate making process and even take part in testing the beans and expressing their opinions. Mirzam’s culture is very transparent and open. Therefore, everyone works the same loads of hour no extra shifts or work.

1 https://www.thenational.ae/business/economy/mirzam-a-home-grown-chocolate-brand-raises-uae-s-profile-1.614139

Establishment: Mirzam was established in the month of September 2016.

Founder: Obaid AlMulla (an Emirati), is the founder

of this privately held company along with his sister; they both prefer to be silent partners with the amount invested to the company also a secret 1. Kathy Johnston, co-founder and chief chocolate officer of Mirzam was part of the launch team after a her life long passion for real chocolate.

Stakeholder: Both Emirati founders and the co-

founder, Kathy, invested in this factory from money, experience, and time.

Structure/Roles: Mirzam is a flat organization with few

The company doesn’t have a large scale of organizational structure because it only started its operations in the second quarter of last year.

The company’s Chief Chocolate Officer, Kathy Johnson, and her mother handle all of the tasks concerning tasting the chocolate for production, marketing and advertisement; Kathy was actually part of the launch team.

In addition, the chocolate factory consists of the chocolate makers and the coffee shop consists of two baristas. All employees are well aware and informed about the chocolate making process and even take part in testing the beans and expressing their opinions.

Mirzam’s culture id very transparent and open. Therefore, everyone works the same loads of hour no extra sifts or work.

levels of management between staff and executives.

The group works as a team with no differentiation between different individuals of the company.

Support: As a team, they all work together and show

support to one another with their friendly attitude and relations. Other types of support include the support of a Saudi man who imports coffee beans for Mirzam cafe so that they can provide it for their customers.

Moreover, looking at the design aspect, many designers show support to Mirzam by their devotion to art and their interest inmaking a package deisgn.

1 https://www.thenational.ae/business/economy/mirzam-a-home-grown-chocolate-brand-raises-uae-s-profile-1.614139

Chocolate Winners

65% Single Origin Dark Chocolate India

“The artisan chocolate maker won four silver for its products including its 65% Single Origin Dark Chocolate India, Dark Chocolate with Dates and Fennel, and the Dark Chocolate with Rose 1.�

The most popular bar among Mirzam customers (Dates and Fennel Dark Chocolate) won an International Chocolate award 1.

A bronze award was won for the White Chocolate with Orange Blossom & Roasted Almond, from the Moroccan collection 2.

62% Single Origin Dark Chocolate with Dates and Fennel

62% Single Origin Dark Chocolate with Rose

1 https://www.thenational.ae/business/economy/mirzam-a-home-grown-chocolatebrand-raises-uae-s-profile-1.614139

2 https://mirzam.com/blog-post/5-academy-of-chocolate-awards-for-mirzam/

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Why is package design important to Mirzam?

Packaging is what identifies Mirzam and its high quality works. All their packaging is sustainably recourced and recycable. The intriguing designs attract individuals and make them wonder about its meaning and inspiration. Each package design has a specfic story or theme behind it; some packages are designed to describe the type of flavor the chocolate itself has just like in the top right image. This chocolate bar is covered with a desert design that reflects the arabian influence and flavor of the chocolate. This 70g bar is made of 52% Milk chocolate filled with pieces of delicious crispy Arabic ‘Rgag’ bread (a traditional Emirati bread).

The thin and crunchy texture of the bread adds an addictive element to this dark milk chocolate1.

In general Mirzam’s chocolate bar packages aim to narrate a story, with the wrappers being hand designed

by Emirati artists with great talent. They are basically treated as canvases, and each package design is sketched before it can be painted and printed as a final design.

1 https://mirzam.com/product/52-dark-milk-ragag/

The spice collection for example has various bars of chocolate, each made with a different spice or flavor like saffron or coconut.

The Emirati collection consists of different bars of chocolate that carry an Emirati dish flavor, whether it was Aseeda or Loqaimat, both are desert dishes in the Emirates.

Spice collection Moroccan collection

Within Mirzam’s wide flavors of crafted chocolate, falls a variety of collections like the Emirati collection, Moroccan collection, Spice collection, Ramadan collection and many more. Each collection has its own theme that represents the story behind the bar and its flavor.

Emirati collection

Differientiated Collections

52% Dark Milk Chocolate with crunchy grated coconut

55% Camel Milk Chocolate infused with saffron and cardamon

36% White Chocolate infused with saffron

36% White Chocolate with roasted almonds and orange blossom

62% Dark Chocolate Halwa Brittle: A semi-sweet Emirati mix

45% Milk Chocolate Loqaimat: Puffed Quinoa with date syrup toffee

36% White Chocolate with frensh Indian Alphonso Mangoes

52% Milk Chocolate with sea salt

36% White Chocolate Aseeda: Caramelised white chocolate spice

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The Chocolate Process From our boutique factory space in Alserkal Avenue, we gently roast and grind the cocoa beans with only unrefined cane sugar for a week, behind museum-style glass panels, to create delicious, natural chocolate.

Everyday Kathy tries five to six batches of chocolate, and she eats around 40 to 100g of chocolate everyday.

It is very important to taste the chocolate to make sure of its quality and consistency, to do that Kathy puts a small piece of chocolate under her tongue, she lets it melt properly and then moves it around her mouth 1.

Using granite wheels, the roasted beans are ground for several days in a process which slowly decreases the molecule size to create incredibly smooth chocolate with no need for additional additives

1 https://www.thenational.ae/business/economy/mirzam-a-home-grown-chocolate-brand-raises-uae-s-profile-1.614139

Chocolate Making 1: Bean Sorting Once the beans have arrived at the factory, they are sorted through every batch by hand to ensure its exceptional quality.

2: Roasting Gentle roasting transforms the beans, bringing out their flavours. Cocoa beans roast at a much lower temperature than coffee, and the time spent varies between the origins of the beans.

3: Winnowing The winnowing machine separates the light outer husk from the dark cocoa bean nibs inside, this is done by breaking the beans, then blowing air over them to finish off the step.

4: Grinding Using two circular granite stones, the beans are grinded in small batches for several days, creating smooth, liquid chocolate.

5: Tempering The final step is done before pouring the chocolate in moulds. This process encourages the cocoa butter to stratify; creating shiny chocolate that does not melt on your fingers1.

1 https://mirzam.com/the-factory/

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Adaptability

Customer Experience

Looking at the chocolate market in the

Customers are able to smell the chocolate

UAE, Mirzam has been able to adapt and recieve a positive response from

aroma of the cocoa beans being roasted just as they step into the store. Also, visitors of the

the society and customers visiting.

factory are able to watch the entire production

Being the first introduced bean to bar

to winnowing, to tempering and wrapping.

factory in Dubai, it wasn’t something that people are used to which is why there was an integration of different themes and flavors to attract customers.

process from the sorting of the beans by hand

The factory tours enhance the experience of the customers, which makes them eager to know more about how the chocolate bars they’re eating are being made.

Mirzam looked into the culture specificaly and flavors of the region and tried to implement that into the company, while adapting to the tastes of the people of the region.

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Customer Service The service they provide to the customer is in a way they could attract them back to the brand again and again as they are very friendly, looks free of stress as they are happy with their jobs and duties at the store, They give a tour for all the newcomers at the store and makes them feel they know every part of their factory/ store by seeing and experiencing the process of bean to bar chocolates and enjoying the chocolates which are ready to taste and sip a cup of hot chocolate at the end of the tour.

Mirzam Cafe After assessing customer experience with the factory and chocolate purchasing, Mirzam saw that there was a gap that had to be filled in that experience and that is to introduce a cafe along with the factory. The aim was to give the opportunity for customers to enjoy their experience to the fullest, hence with the cafe introduction they are able to have a seat and enjoy the ambience

Products and Menu Products and services revolves around the cocoa beans, as the cafe serves similar taste like the brownies and other chocolate products including their signiture Hot chocolate with rose and honey, and other flavors that dubai has never tasted before. A combination of an organic flavor comparing to an artifically blended drink is different. The cafe also aims to provide the customer with highly specialized coffee locally roasted under different suppliers who immensly care about the mixing of theflavors of the classical and pure chocolate mirzam is serving. Getting to know about the prompt atmosphere that the cafe provides it generally indures the taste of freshly blended coffee.

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Brand Review of their Identity and Message Mirzam does not aim to compete with the mass producing chocolate makers, the team behind the factory want to stay in their own focused niche market that focuses on single origin beans and fair sustainable trade.

Kathy (Chocolate Chief Manager) makes sure to oversee where exactly the beans are coming from and deals with the farmers directly to make sure that the workers conditions are fair and farmers (Suppliers) are getting equal bene fits as the buyers. This shows that she cares a lot about the brand image as she is making sure that the chocolate beans are not from farms where workers are exploited or treated unfairly. Also, as apparent from the chocolate packaging, Mirzam places great emphasis on their packaging design.

The packaging is hand made by artists. Furthermore, every artist who designs a specific chocolates packaging needs to have a relation to the beans origin. Mirzam organizes events based on the UAE’s holidays like (Eid, Ramdaan, UAE national day‌etc)

Vision

Values

To become a worldwide known bean to bar company, that when people from all over the world hear the word Mirzam, they would directly think Dubai.

Loyalty Honesty Trust Efficiency Creativity Consistency

Mission

Product

To deliver bean to bar chocolate and produce it with high quality and rich flavor.

Bean to bar chocolate

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Logo and Brand Identity The logo of the brand has an objective generally is to see them as one of Dubai’s best manufacturers of the product among both local and expats by representing Mirzam as a brand like Emirates, Jumeirah hotels etc. Visual communication and social media expands the brand virtually as it gets more reach than the extensive marketing techniques companies use to promote the brand.

They represent themselves as a blacksmith who designs jewelry with precision and well designed in the chocolate industry were they present the chocolates at its best forms. The Instagram page gives an idea how modern and updated they are with social marketing as it shows a very unique way of showing they are chocolate manufacturers.

They take incredible photos of the chocolate, and aesthetic clichĂŠ photography of coffee art. In a few photos,they show the new updated packaging, or the process of making chocolates and the ingredients. The cups they have there is illustrated by the talented illustrator Mariam Abbas which shows a busy Dubai creek trading and social life. She is an Emiratis known for her detailed miniature, drawn from diversified and iconic inspiration.

Design Review They Craft their chocolates very precisely by using the mould and detailing using X-ACTO KNIVES AND RULERS which can cut beautiful smooth lines with no fray. They have minimally designed the store with contemporary concepts which makes it look classy and elegant.

To become a designer is to learn to fall in love with clean lines and functionality and minimal simplicity . By moving the kitchen into the open space, it becomes the part of daily life and also features a lot of storage space to hide the cookware’s and machineries. Modern spaces tend to incorporate lots of glassware like glass doors and windows, it made the factory look so unique and colossal by flooding with natural light emphasizing views and making it all easier to enjoy the outdoor view of Al Serkal avenue and the inner roads of Al Quoz.

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Marketing and Advertising Marketing and Advertising of Mirzam chocolates of being consistent and providing a unique service through continuous refurbishment of the architecture and interior design of the store, by introducing new flavors or new origins of chocolates at its finest forms. To support the aesthetics of the premium chocolate collection, they also have a range of hot drinks that are refined and refreshing which portrays the brand exposure they are looking for.

When the customers visit the store, The management wants them to be more interactive and blend in with the culture of the brand. The Aroma of the roasted chocolates is spread all around the store such that when you visit the factory you fall in love with chocolates already. For chocolate lovers it’s a chill spot where they can taste chocolates that represents the countries along the spice route. The merchandizing and marketing department works together with the brand awareness by designing all packaging and social marketing collaterals to enhance the Mirzam concept. External signages are highly selective and nominal, focusing on word of mouth reputational publicity.

Marketing and advertising initiative creates brand awareness through public relations targeted social media campaigns and alliance with events and promotions for the chocolate lovers to get them back to the store. Involvement in social media and marketing boost the reach of the brands faster and better as design is an element that speaks on its own. Mirzam has a strong sense of design and is aware of the brand strategies that the local market has set in the bean to bar chocolate sector .

Photoshoot Mirzam lately has become a hub for the local photographers in Dubai where they could meet along the sides of the factory enjoying the aroma of chocolate and continue with editing or rendering their work.

Alserkal avenue attracts crowd that are in love with the modern architecture around the store.

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Kiosk and Events In joint venture with other start other startups which are special brands that are famous for their dairy products like the Deena organic farm dairy products who pops up their local selection of cheese that’s served and showcased in the store every Friday.

People come and support local artisans and taste what has been produced in Dubai. They are a local organic farm based in Dubai, producing fresh vegetables, fruits and artisan cheese and deliver to homes.

Similarly they support startups who are innovative and products that help them boost the brand value of Mirzam and also motivates local suppliers. The supply of roasted coffee is also by another individual startups like zero four specialty coffee, camel step single origin Ethiopia burtukaana , night jar cafĂŠ etc. Mirzam showcases a workshop of their products at Bloomingdales, Dubai Mall which gives an exposure for the brand they are looking for due to the placement of kiosks at one of the prime locations in Dubai and also the other emirates.

Its important that people need to know about the concept of bean to bar chocolates in this region were the chocolate industry is led by Patchi, Godiva and such luxury chocolate brands overpowering the market with their marketing strategies like promotions for local festivals, public holidays and national days which makes the customers feel more privileged.

Special occasions Mirzam has not diversified their line of products like the Godiva where chocolate lovers can have it in various forms like ice cream, and also other edible mean of chocolates. They also diversify by selling the chocolates to various distributors like minimarts and luxury outlets where people are more prone to try and buy such variants of chocolates. Tie ups with big event companies and gift suppliers so that the market gets the demand for bean to bar.

Its important that people need to know about the concept of bean to bar chocolates in this region were the chocolate industry is led by Patchi, Godiva and such luxury chocolate brands overpowering the market with their marketing strategies like promotions for local festivals, public holidays and national days which makes the customers feel more privileged.

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SWOT Analysis

Internal Factors

Strengths • • • • • • • • • • •

Weaknesses

Chocolate production quality focused rather than quantity Being a new market entrant Product highly differentiated Sustainable (No production Waste) Chocolate is artificial conservatives free (Beneficial for health) Fair Trade Oriented Having broad audience base Distinctive/ aesthetically pleasing packaging High product value/Most of the production process is done by hand Strong customer loyalty Innovative Flavors offerings

• • • • • • •

No clear future objectives Budgeting is not organized Managerial Load on the Co-Founder/Small Team Too much focus on packaging Unclear Hierarchy (Flat Structure) Small factory size and capacity of production Facing shortage due high demand

Opportunity • • • • • •

Threats

EXPO2020 (Advertising/ Creating New Flavors) The increase in awareness about sustainably and fair trade Digital Advertisement Dubai being a touristic attraction Trend: UAE Residents/Tourist openness to experience new authentic tastes Expansion opportunities (Open store in City Walk, Dubai mall...etc.)

• • • •

•

Competition with chocolate mass producers Store Location not strategic for maximum exposer Pricing might be too high to keep up with the completion Unstable chocolate supply market due to mass cocoa bean production (Small farms) Different customers tastes

External Factors 25

Benchmarking Mirzam’s Comparative Advantage

Sustainability and Fair Trade A recent report in The Guardian revealed that unsustainable cocoa farming was responsible for ‘devastating’ loss of rainforest cover in Ivory Coast.

Mirzam’s core value is all about the “No waste” ideal and “Fair Trade” practices. As mentioned in the interview we have conducted with Kathy Johnson, Co-Founder and Chief Chocolate officer at Mirzam atelier, all of the components of cocoa beans are used in the production of chocolate mainly, then coffee and sweets from what remains from the chocolate production. For example, the husk is used for cocoa tea. All of Mirzam production practices generate almost zero byproducts. “Fair trade” is an important ideal that makes Mirzam the ideal chocolate maker among all chocolate producers. The wellbeing of the farmers that work on the sites that supply Mirzam cocoa beans is important to Mirzam. “With a mission to help make the entire cocoa value chain more sustainable, Mirzam pays its farmers well above fair trade requirements, up to six times the market rate”1. These fair trade practices allows Mirzam’s consumer’s to enjoy the fine taste with no guilty feeling. The sustainable practices at Mirzam go as far as using organic origin wrapper that are eco-friendly.

1 https://theethicalist.com/mirzam-chocolate-no-bitter-taste/

Transparency Mirzam has a very relative advantage that differentiated it and makes considered a luxury chocolate brand compared to the other brands like Patchi etc. Mirzam’s production processes are all based on transparency, sustainably and Fair Trade. As a start, its factory at Alserkal Avenue is open to the public’s eye to see the production steps. “The Mirzam Chocolate cafe has been designed for the production process to be transparent, so visitors can experience every aspect of chocolate making at the on-site windowed factory, from roasting cocoa beans to hand wrapping individual bars.” 1.

Visitors are welcomed anytime to tour the shop and get educated about the chocolate they’ve just tasted. In addition, Mirzam’s cocoa beans are sorted one by one to get the most refined taste for the chocolate bars.

Packaging Most of the chocolate mass producers focus on more distribution and sales rather than the craftsmanship in their packaging design. All of their packaging represents and gives a voice to its brand names which is essential. If new flavors are introduced which doesn’t happen often what mostly changes is the color. For some other brands, packages are unified with two color schemes so if a person wants to know the flavor they need to check the small writing on the back which is kind of an inconvenience to customers. For brands like “Patchi� finding out the flavor is a mystery as individual packaging has no labels for flavor. On the other hand, for Mirzam packaging embodies the brand, the flavor and the story behind it which creates a special meaning for its consumers.

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Recommendation Production Process Mirzam’s factory is very small in size that it can’t cater to the increasing demand for their chocolate.

Finding machinery was a hassle to begin with.

Mirzam’s machine were customized from differently because all of the machines available in the market were made for commercial scale productions. Mirzam produces 30 Kilograms of chocolate per batch. A single batch takes roughly 6 weeks. “Mirzam’s challenge now is expanding to fill demand. Already it has faced shortages on some of its lines 1”.

Recommendation: Mirzam should take into consideration expanding, it’s about time that Mirzam factory expands its facility to produce more that it’s already producing. The expansion could be by moving the current factory to a new location with commercial or semi commercial machinery.

Or, by adding another facility purely for production purposes near its current HQ at Alserakal Avenue.

1 https://gulfnews.com/business/start-ups/mirzam-eyes-expo-for-building-capacity-reputation-1.2185193

Coffee Shop Designs Mirzam’s coffee shop design is based on a minimalistic, black and white design. The façade of the setting area is a large window faces the street which allows sunlight to reflect on the white walls which gives a peaceful relaxing atmosphere. However the brand identity seems to be missing.

Recommendation: When you look to the chocolates packaging then the store it looks like a little paradox. So much investment on the packaging design but not much on the store interior décor. My suggestion is that there should be an investment on the interior design to reflect the story of Mirzam (Constellations, spice route, Arabian traders…etc).

Digital Marketing Mirzam has a strong presence on social media platforms. Using their website, Instagram and Facebook to showcase their purely aesthetic ally pleasing chocolate bars, truffles...etc. In addition, shed the spotlight on their exquisite packaging.

Recommendation: Social media bloggers and influencers are becoming a strong marketing tool nowadays. I believe that Mirzam should capitalize on the existence of plenty of Arabian social media influencers with a large follower’s base to spread the word about Mirzam across the UAE and GCC too. I believe that Mirzam didn’t explore all the possibilities that exist to market its product.

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Art Hub/Workshops /Competitions Mirzam uses a lot of local talents to create their wrappers by hand not digitally. The chocolate and the wrapper need to have an element in common which makes the wrapper design and the chocolate very unique and interesting.

Packaging/Visual Communication Ms. Kathy, Mirzam’s Co-founder and Chief Chocolate Officer has made a strong point that Mirzam’s extravagant chocolate packaging is a vital part of the brand’s identity. The packaging is not only an exquisite art work but also it represents a story of the chocolate and the artist who designed the packaging combined.

Recommendation: Since Mirzam’s packaging is a part of its identity, I suggest that Mirzam uses this comparative advantage to strengthen its market presences by investing in visual media advertisements and a combination of the story behind the flavors and the artist work and creative process could create the perfect Video add that will attract customers to try Mirzam’s new approaches.

This will help Mirzam to expand through a new platform like you-tube for example, using youtube ads and even billboards. In addition, bring their story to life.

Recommendation: Mirzam can claim itself as an art hub that scouts local talent and direct its focus to the brand. In order to spread the notion of being original and distinct, Mirzam can organize workshop across the UAE as a strategy to discover valuable local talents that can contribute to creating flavors and their packaging. The workshops can be combined with prizes to encourage participation. In the future, this will lead the store to be an art hub where artist meet to get inspired and share their artistic interests and ideas.

CHOCOLATE MAKERS