Little Cocoa Bean Co., Nourishment Through Collaboration
Pro bono branding — 2020/2021
Partnering with my two good friends Mara Morris and Jerry Wycoco, we wanted to challenge ourselves to work together on some branding exercises. I reached out to a contact at the local kitchen incubator CommonWealth Kitchen to see if they had any brands ready for some branding help. After a little while, my contact got back to us and connected us with Tracy Skelly, an entrepreneur and mother on a mission.
When Tracy had her daughter, she noticed that the baby food options were limited to the usual choices: spinach, carrots, peas, kale, sweet potatoes, and so on. She missed the foods she grew up with, so she founded Little Cocoa Bean Co., a brand dedicated to introducing African Diaspora foods to the baby food market. Mara, Jerry, and I were immediately on board!
Interviewing, Researching and Learning.
We met with Tracy and worked together to define a process and timeline that worked for everyone. After several interviews, we really got to know her mission, goals, vision, customer base, and upcoming plans.
We then researched the CPG space and landed on three possible directions for Little Cocoa Bean Co. Tracy wanted to see a combination of two!
The Urbanite — Shedding the frills, contemporary.
Simply Food — Pure ingredients & history.
Folklore — Illustrative connection to culture.
Brand Values & Voice
Tracy and I frequently collaborated to develop the brand identity and voice. Through meetings, simple texts, we worked closely to perfect this section. Tracy had a strong vision for the brand, and through our close collaboration, we effectively captured and articulated her ideas.
Inclusion —
We engender a culture of inclusion and love by championing diversity.
We honor and recognize our past by creating hope, love, and health for the future.
Heritage —
We recognize parents for their efforts. We’re all doing the very best we can.
Recognition —
Positivity —
We try not to say ‘no’. We affirm our mission using positivity as our north star.
Building the Brand Visuals.
Mara and I were simultaneously developing the visuals, emphasizing African Diaspora representation in children’s food. We drew inspiration from sources like Caribbean folk music, Central American and Indian textile patterns, and the vibrant colors and shapes of foods like papaya and mango.
Then the pandemic hit, Tracy quickly adjusted strategy, pivoting from food to products parents use for feeding their children. We abandoned the illustrations and shifted our focus to the website instead of packaging.
Site development
In comes Jerry! He had been observing and collaborating for a long while, offering comments here and there, but the website is where he truly shined. Jerry, Mara, and I worked through user flows, wireframes, and UI, and finally applied the look and feel.
Jerry took it to Tracy for the all-clear and then started developing. Little Cocoa Bean Co. launched their site and began selling their feeding tools to families!
Tracy Skelly — Founder, Little Cocoa Bean, Co.
“I didn’t have a brand before working with Dylan. I had a business. He changed the course of my work in so many positive ways. Little Cocoa Bean Co. is what it is because of Dylan’s thoughtful approach to the branding work and because of his exceptional talent and subject matter expertise.”
Things shifted, priorities changed, jobs were lost, daycares were shuttered, new jobs were gained… I wish we could have continued to refine the brand for Tracy… and kept working with Mara and Jerry… but circumstances didn’t allow us to do that. We got LCBco. up-and-running and said goodbye. This was an incredibly rewarding experience, filled with challenge and newness and fun, in the middle of a not-so-fun era.
With that — I’m so grateful for it.
This was a weird time...
This was a weird time...
Little Cocoa Bean, Co. has kept on growing!
Tracy had to duck and weave … she changed models, got funding, gained press, rebranded, opened up a pop-up in The Seaport in Boston, opened a Brick & Mortar store down the street from me in Jamaica Plain… and although they have a new look & feel (love that they finally got some illustrations!)… it’s pretty cool seeing the Brand Values section on the website, knowing I helped Tracy build that.
