UK-based Benson Group launches design competition for students, challenging them to design cartonboard gift box for selection of Willie's Cacao products to be promoted to exclusive Chocolate Club membership via monthly home deliveries

Debra Garcia

BARDON, England , July 8, 2013 (press release) – Benson Group has launched its first design competition for students, in conjunction with long standing client Willie’s Cacao.

Benson Group has launched its first design competition for students, in conjunction with long standing client Willie’s Cacao. Benson Group is challenging ambitious packaging students with a brief to design a cartonboard gift box to contain a selection of Willie’s Cacao products for members of its new and exclusive Chocolate Club.

The design challenge is to create an original gift box to be used for a new Chocolate Club promotion being launched by Willie’s Cacao. The pack will be delivered to the homes of club members on a monthly basis. The contents will allow club members to further explore the chocolate range, giving them the opportunity to discover new and exciting flavours. The premium quality product will sit within the online gift market, and will be aimed at adults aged 35 to 65.

Competition entrants must be part- or full-time students at a college of art, college, or university in the UK or overseas, and must register online at www.bensongroup.co.uk no later than August 30, 2013. Full details and rules of the competition will be provided via the web site. Along with a range of cash and chocolate prizes, the overall winner will be provided with two weeks of work experience at the Design Studio within Benson Group’s Bardon, Leicestershire, headquarters and production facility.

Commenting on the competition, Nikki Clark, Marketing Manager at Benson Group and head of the design team, said: “This represents a tremendous opportunity for students to promote their abilities and talents to a huge audience. Just a quick look at the current packaging of the Willie’s Cacao products should provide plenty of inspiration for would-be entrants – the taste of the chocolate will stimulate the thought process too!”

Nikki, Willie Harcourt-Cooze, owner of Willie’s Cacao, along with Gwyn Davies, Design Director, BrandOpus will judge the entries. Free carton board and brand logo’s can be provided to aid students.

Commenting on the reasons for the creation of the Chocolate Club, Willie Harcourt-Cooze, owner of and the inspiration behind Willie’s Cacao, said: “I want people to discover and experience some of the awakening that I did: the zing of fruit or nut flavours that are the product of genetics, soil and climate. Our ranges of products are to be explored, you can decide whether to make a sweet or savoury dish and you can taste the true cacao flavour. These delights and more await the members of our new club – what we need; however, is suitably exciting packaging in which to deliver these delights through the doors of Britain’s chocolate lovers! I am already looking forward to seeing what creations the innovative design student population can deliver.”

For more detail on the chocolate delights of Willie’s Cacao see www.williescacao.com and for competition entry information see www.bensongroup.co.uk

About Benson Group

Benson Group is one of the UK’s leading privately owned printed folding carton suppliers, producing packaging product for both the food retail and healthcare industries for a wide range of UK and European customers.

The business manufactures packaging product at four production sites covering in excess of 400,000 sq ft. Benson Group continues to grow and expects to achieve annual sales for the current financial year in excess of £120 million. Food product manufacturers are the main customers at Bardon and for the company’s two North East facilities in Newcastle and Gateshead. The fourth site in Crewe serves healthcare and consumer care markets. In recent years, investment in new plant and equipment across the four sites totals in excess of £22 million. The group employs in excess of 900 personnel across all four production sites.

Benson Group creates packaging for many well-known companies, brands and retailers. Key account clients across the Group include Two Sisters Food Group, Reckitt Benkiser, Greencore, and Samworth Brothers. The company is an approved supplier for all of the UK’s leading retail chains. Food and healthcare packaging is exported to customers in countries throughout Europe.

For further information on the Benson Group visit the www.bensongroup.co.uk web site.

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