NSU Undergraduates Take on Chocolate Bark Challenge

August 8, 2021 iharrell

During the Winter 2021 semester, eight undergraduate students from the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences and the H.Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship were selected to participate in a special topics communications course partnering with Hoffman’s Chocolates and the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation. The eight-week online course, offered through the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts, gave students the opportunity to work closely with leadership, chocolatiers, and marketing and design professionals from Hoffman’s Chocolates and the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation and develop a new chocolate bark product.

Now in its third year, the special topics course partnering with Hoffman’s Chocolates took on a new challenge by also partnering with the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation to design a new chocolate bark and marketing campaign focused on conservation of Florida’s coastal and Everglades ecosystems. Selected students represented a variety of majors — Art + Design, Communication, Marine Biology and Marketing — and worked in two teams to develop their chocolate bark products, packaging and marketing campaigns featuring paintings by Guy Harvey.

“I’m especially proud of this year’s cohort of dedicated, ambitious students,” said Miriam Ahmed, Ph.D., assistant professor of graphic design for the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts, who taught the course. “They weren’t afraid to push beyond their comfort zones, and they pursued avenues for achieving the tougher goal of centering sustainability within their communication strategies, marketing, and product packaging.”

An advantage of the course’s online format, Ahmed said, was that it allowed students the chance to collaborate remotely with team members from the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation who are located in the Cayman Islands.

On April 20, the student teams pitched their proposed flavor profiles to leadership and representatives from Hoffman’s Chocolates, the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, NSU and its Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts. During the final presentation, students showcased “Spiced Paradise” featuring a spiced-ginger rum and dark chocolate bark and “Citrus Coast” featuring a Key Lime Bay white chocolate bark. Both flavors were selected for upcoming production by Hoffman’s Chocolates.

The flavors will be paired with the 2020 Orange Blossom chocolate bark developed by students from last year’s special topics course. The product’s launch was postponed because of COVID-19, and the bark is now set to launch this summer along with this year’s winner.

“Hoffman’s and the GHOF were excellent partners, providing students with exciting interdisciplinary experiential learning opportunities,” said Shanti Bruce, Ph.D., chair and professor for the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts.