Mohawk Fine Papers

Antoine Amrani has a delicious, yet distinguished, background in chocolate making.

His passion was sparked early when, as a small child, he would marvel at beautifully handcrafted sweets in the windows of elegant Parisian shops.

He viewed chocolate as a luxurious treat to be shared and enjoyed, as he often did with his own family, on very special occasions. He knew then that he wanted to become a Chef Chocolatier and create wonderfully, rich, chocolate confections to share with others.

Trained in Paris at the Ritz Escoffier, Antoine Amrani later became the Head Pastry Chef at Philadelphia’s critically acclaimed, 5-Star Mobil rated, Le Bec Fin, before opening his exclusive Chocolate Factory in East Norriton, PA. Even though he is now surrounded by chocolate on a daily basis (lucky him!), Antoine Amrani still views chocolate as a way to express his creativity and share the delicious results with others.

His chocolates are meant to be celebrated. “I want people to return to the beauty and enjoyment of life’s small pleasures,” says Amrani. From the beautifully designed packaging to very last velvety smooth bite, Antoine Amrani Chocolates places extraordinary emphasis on creating a premium product and a delectable experience.

Luxurious Inside and Out
Amrani knows that the enjoyment begins with the packaging; and he wanted the outside of the box to match the luxurious treats contained within. He consulted Smith Design , the New Jersey and California-based brand design firm, who worked closely with Antoine Amrani’s team to develop every aspect of the brand, from the design and shapes of the chocolates to its identity and packaging.

Because Smith Design has a core focus in brand identity, package design and sustainable design, not only would the packaging be beautiful, it would also be environmentally friendly.

“As a standard of practice, we research and recommend environmentally sustainable solutions to our clients,” says Martha Seidner, VP of Smith Design. “Selecting papers that are recyclable, FSC certified and manufactured using sustainable energy sources is not only important to us and our client, it is very important to today’s consumer as well.”

It was a natural choice for Smith Design to use Mohawk’s environmental Beckett Cambric for Antoine Amrani Chocolate’s gift boxes and sleeves. “We explored a range of paper options, but we chose Beckett Cambric because it offered a myriad of benefits,” said Seidner. “The bonus was to learn that not only do these papers fully maximize our design strategy, but also that the papers are carbon neutral and manufactured with Green-e certified wind energy.”

Delivering on the Brand’s Promise
It was important for Smith Design to create packaging that reflected the brand’s promise to deliver a “superlative chocolate experience”. “Our design team wanted to find the richest and most appealing brown for the gift boxes, to communicate a very sophisticated brand. Cambric’s Mahogany shade was selected because it offers a velvety, dense color saturation and fine linen texture,” said Seidner. “To our design team, it mirrors ‘luxury chocolate.’  Additionally, the Mahogany brown provides a dramatic contrast to the Amrani branding, which is a chartreuse logo, based on merging classic European influences with modern innovation. The logo is foil stamped on the lid, and revealed on the sides through an elegant scroll pattern.”

Currently, there are four gift box sizes, each sealed with full-color printed sleeves on Beckett Cambric White in bold vibrant colors, such as chartreuse, bright orange, magenta and purple. “These sleeves deliver a high fashion ‘wow’ factor against the tailored brown,” comments Seidner.

The chocolates themselves are positioned at the very highest end of the super-premium chocolate segment, and each flavor in Antoine Amrani’s Signature line is enrobed in an exclusive 70 percent Dark chocolate. Mouthwatering flavors include Pure Dark, Banana Rum, Coconut Kaffir Lime, Orange Grand Marnier, Almond Crisp and Coffee Sour Cherry.

When asked what her favorite Antoine Amrani flavors were, Seidner replied, “Now that’s a tough question. Once you develop a palette for these types of chocolates — and it doesn’t take long — they all taste very, very good. I think my favorites are Hazelnut Praline, Duo Cafe and Organic Cinnamon Honey.”

Yumm. Have a chocolate craving yet?

Tempted? Go ahead, give in.

You can order these incredible treats by calling 877-267-2644 (877 AMRANI-4) or online at www.AAchocolates.com.

To request Mohawk’s Beckett Cambric swatchbook, please click here.