Marou Chocolate for National Gallery Singapore

by Elizabeth Freeman on 06/13/2016 | 12 Minute Read

An extraordinary chocolate with a fascinating background story. Marou is a line of chocolates that is infamous for not only its rich, depth of flavor but its striking packaging. Designed by Rice Creative, a new line emerges inspired by the architecture of The National Gallery in Singapore and the traditions of printmaking in Vietnam.

"The National Gallery Singapore is a new art museum occupying the former Supreme Court and City Hall sites in downtown Singapore. The gallery houses the largest, most comprehensive collection of modern South East Asian artwork in the world. The gallery was keen to partner with Marou Chocolate and co-brand a range of chocolate bars for their store, which would represent both Vietnam and the exceptional architecture of National Gallery."

"The Gallery is comprised of three distinct spaces: historic, modern and transcendent. We created a set of icons based on these themes. With the spaces identified, Marou were able to conceive 3 flavors that matched them in spirit. Standard chocolate was used as a ‘control’ in the historic bar. Chile infused chocolate represented the modern tree structures which connect there two buildings. Finally, Sea Salt chocolate was chosen to represent the light dappled atrium."

"Our next challenge was to represent Vietnam. In keeping with the hand-made nature of Marou chocolate, Rice sought to wrap the bars in an authentic and traditional Vietnamese art form. The clear choice was ?ông H?, which originated in a small village in the North of Vietnam. The process is entirely hand-made. Paper is made from Mulberry bark, with a sparkle added from crushed scallop shell. Red pigment is derived from terra cotta. Green and blue pigments come from natural indigo plant parts. Black ink is charred bamboo leaves, and the white pigment is simply powdered shell. We worked with a family whom have been practicing ?ông H? for over 500 years. Bridging ancient Vietnam with a modern structure in Singapore, we created motifs using our icons, and commissioned the artisans to print each wrapper. Each bar of chocolate then, is wrapped in a unique price of art."