Student wins first place of national design competition with algae chocolate packaging

Plymouth student Emma Flintham won the first place at the annual JDO RAW national design competition, for her package design of ‘Algae Cacao,’ a sustainable and healthy spirulina algae chocolate bar geared at the millennial market.

This year JDO, the design agency behind the awards, tasked UK students with the brief ‘Mash Made in Heave,’  which challenged them to design a food/ drink brand for millennials using a mash up generator to randomly select two unexpected food, drink or flavour combinations. Runners-up included packaging for whisky, gin, craft beer, and vodka.

Out of 150 entries, Flintham’s design stood out for its distinct branding. What struck judges the most was the deep-running algae motifs, seen in both the spirulina algae within each chocolate bar and the green algae plants printed on the packaging.

“Emma’s design fulfills the RAW criteria perfectly and it tells a unique yet believable brand story. From the idea to the execution, Emma has considered every touchpoint that a good designer should,” says Ben Oates, JDO co-founder and CD.  “The combination of chocolate and algae is truly unexpected – something we celebrate at JDO, but it’s also a marketable product. The bright colours, the bold font, the recyclable paper packaging, it all comes together to tell the story of ‘Algae Cacao’”

To enter or nominate someone for Transform's Young Contenders 2021, click here.