Have you ever noticed?

If you look closely, you will discover a heart-shaped mouth on all our Antidote packaging. You may not have realized it, but these little kisses are sent to you direct from a goddess! If the illustration looks too abstract to you, look for the mouth on the front of the box, and you will see a goddess peeking out.

All our Antidote flavor fusion bars depict a Greek goddess that embodies the taste characteristics of the bar - she is illustrated on the front of the bar by the ingredients that compose her: 

Kakia (Wicked Goddess of Vice), with a full head of coffee beans and a necklace of cardamom, blows you a kiss.

Hebe (Goddess of Youth), laughing wildly, juggles a handful of lemons.

Hestia (Goddess of Hearth Fire)’s banana headdress and fiery hair reminds you of the warmth in the bar.

Panakeia (Goddess of Cures and Well-Being), patterned with lavender flowers, soothes your soul.

Artemis (Goddess of Hunt, Wilderness, & Moon) in her almond headdress aims her bow and arrow directly for you.

Aletheia (Goddess of Truth & Wisdom) - with a necklace of ginger pieces, invites you to taste.

Hybris (Goddess of Pride & Insolence)’s mango-reminiscent coiffure gives you buoyancy with each bite.

Gaia (Goddess of Mother Earth) looks to the sky, surrounded by cacao trees.

The primary focus is always on the chocolate, of course. It’s even in our name - Antidote: Serious Chocolate. The good stuff always comes first! However, we think the outside is just as important as the inside. As far as chocolate packaging design within the industry, we see a lot of packages that are designed to look handmade. Sentimental romanticism is something that people love, but unfortunately it leads to lots of praise being heaped upon amateurish designs. In an era where everyone feels like an expert - everyone has access to the tools and knowledge of the internet - our judgment for what’s good quality has become sometimes overly subjective. With social media attention, everyone can be a writer, designer, photographer, creative director, etc. Unfortunately, this can lead to amateurism and mediocrity. At Antidote, we yearn to develop a more heightened sense of determining what is good quality and what is just unprofessional. A handmade ‘look’ can be charming, hip, and cool - but don’t let quirkiness hide poor design!

In the boutique food industry, woodcut prints, hand drawn fonts, antique imagery from the last century, and retro design are very popular. These elements are fine when applied with thought and expertise, but retro design, if not well done, is pure kitsch. A marriage between retro and modern is necessary! The way into the future is not the way of the past. Particularly if your retro design costs so much to handprint onto fancy paper that it drives up the cost of your product! The label “hipster” in the chocolate industry is a dreaded one, as it has come to denote inaccessibility, unnecessary cost, and dubious quality. There’s nothing cool about that! At Antidote, we strive for a packaging design that is affordable, looks clean, feels luxurious, and tells you a story about the chocolate inside.