The holiday season is often seen as an opportunity by product designers to use retro packaging or traditional flavor profiles to create a sense of comfort and continuity.  But recently a number of brands have moved counter to that current by placing the emphasis on function rather than feeling.

As simple as it sounds, hot chocolate on a stick is expected to feature prominently this holiday season. This particular format of the winter time beverage showed up at the Fancy Food Shows in both New York and San Francisco from chocolatiers, confectionery manufacturers and retail brands.  It’s popular in its simplicity and flexibility, leaving room for playful designs between the cocoa squares, stirring bars, and the delicious toppings.  However, the true driver of this trend is in the experience that the function creates making the indulgence more about the process than in the product itself.  That same playful, enjoyable moment is achieved through the other trends on the shelves this holiday season such as chocolate dipped stirrers for an addition of flavor as well as the pie-in-a-cup gift.






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