The refreshed design, by Pearlfisher, moves the packaging from predominantly dark brown to colours reflecting the flavour of each variant. It will be supported by an ad campaign planned for the latter half of the year.
The change has been driven by Green & Black's research, which showed that 20% of consumers in the UK believed that its range comprised solely dark chocolate; in fact nearly half of its variants are milk chocolate.
'At the moment, you could look at the packaging and think it's a dark chocolate range,' said Kellie Fernandes, the brand's global head of marketing.
She described the current packaging as 'recessive', and added that the bolder pack design was intended to provide greater standout on shelf.
At the end of February, the confectioner introduced a Creamy Milk variant as part of its attempts to attract new consumers. It is being supported by a tactical press ad campaign created by Brave. The launch pits Green & Black's against owner Cadbury's flagship chocolate bar, Dairy Milk, and Mars' Galaxy.
To date, the Creamy Milk variant has sold 1m bars. However, cannibalisation of Green & Black's regular milk chocolate bar sits at 5% year on year.
Fernandes said that the levelling out of Green & Black's sales was due to a wider malaise in the premium chocolate market. 'The category is up 5%, but that rise is being driven by the mainstream brands,' she added. 'Driving penetration will depend upon us speaking to people who don't know Green & Black's that well.'
Following a restructure this January, Green & Black's is now more integrated with Cadbury's UK and Ireland business. The changes included the appointment of Guillaume Brochen, formerly marketing director for Newell Rubbermaid at Procter & Gamble, as its UK general manager.
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