Noka: brand crisis, or marketing spin meltdown?
Noka, a Texas company that sells some of the world’s most expensive chocolate, now faces an apparent life or death brand crisis. In late December the food site DallasFood.org published an in-depth, 10-part analysis of Noka chocolate, slicing through Noka’s promotional fluff to reveal the facts behind the “luxury” chocolate that Noka sells at monumental mark-ups. The series title: “What’s Noka worth?”
A potential meltdown
The results don’t look good for Noka. The extensive DallasFood analysis, which appears to be fact-based, deeply researched and well-informed, concludes that Noka isn’t a chocolate maker at all, contrary to the identity Noka projects on its website, in interviews and in promotional materials. According to the analysis, Noka buys bulk chocolate from Bonnat, a high-end French chocolate maker, melts it into desired shapes, wraps it in high-sounding but often meaningless terms, adds a veneer of packaging, and then marks up its “luxury” chocolates as much as 1000%—while taking full credit for the product.
Noka claims to “specify” the chocolate it buys, thus making it “our [Noka's] chocolate,” as if it were a special formulation conceived by Noka itself. The DallasFood report casts doubt on the merit of this claim.
Not really “bean to bar”
Noka is oficially a “chocolatier” — a chocolate candy maker and seller. It uses the term to describe itself, but never defines it. Noka does not buy cocoa beans and process them into chocolate, “from bean to bar,” as does (for example) Scharffen Berger and many other elite chocolate makers. In other words, Noka is just like your neighborhood See’s. They buy chocolate from chocolate makers and fashion “chocolates” from it. But to justify its immense “luxury” prices, Noka must wave some magic wands.
(The DallasFood analysis calculated that for $7.50 one could readily buy a bar of the same chocolate that Noka sells for $100.)
At risk: Noka identity, trust and reputation
The DallasFood analysis concludes that what one tastes in a Noka chocolate does not come from Noka, and that there is no way Noka’s high prices can be justified by any value that Noka adds on its own.
Until Noka addresses the details of the DallasFood analysis head on, it faces a three-pronged crisis of identity, trust and reputation. Moreover, this crisis is apparently of Noka’s own making. If its “luxury” chocolate is crafted from self-made myth, it cannot hope to accelerate its myth-making to get out of its chocolate-painted corner. If will have to “get real” — as great brands do from the get-go.
A study in brand integrity
The DallasFood analysis digs deep into the very essence of brand integrity. If you work with brands, you should read it. On one level, it’s a lesson in the modern business of chocolate. On another level, it clearly identifies the points of integrity that are crucial to building a brand as a chocolate maker or chocolatier. You’ll get a real feel for the craftsmanship and hard work that go into many world-class chocolate brands. It’s not an easy business.
And now for some interesting brand-related questions.
Is Noka a brand?
The results of the DallasFood analysis raise the question of whether Noka actually qualifies as a brand. Just because it looks like a brand doesn’t mean that it is a brand. Brands hold themselves to exemplary standards. They lead by example. They’re deeds, not words. They’re transparent. And they operate with a baseline integrity that nurtures trust. The fact that a product flaunts a bold identity doesn’t mean that it automatically rises to the level of a brand—any more than an overweight, pasty-faced dweeb in a Michael Jordan jersey rises to the level of NBA basketball. In other words, brand status is earned, not self-appointed. You can’t fake it.
Or is Noka paying the price for marketing spin?
If Noka isn’t a brand, what is it? Based on the DallasFood analysis, the Noka offering appears to be largely marketing spin. Let’s define this term: marketing spin is the conscious fabrication of half-truths, fictions, false analogies and misinformation to create the illusion of substance. Companies that embrace marketing spin pay only lip service to brand principles; they reduce brands to little more than cosmetics.
Marketing spin: illusions of value
Marketing spin works by creating illusions of value while keeping relevant facts hidden from view. The easiest way to employ it is to re-frame a product in terms of more attractive associations. In Noka’s case, chocolate is re-framed in the lofty language of fine art (“collections”) and fine wine (“vintages, terroir“). Marketing spin may seem to be a way “to get something for nothing,” but it comes at a very high price. It erodes and undercuts brand value. While brands raise the integrity bar, marketing spin kicks it into the ditch.
The importance of creating customers
A brand works to create customers who can add value back to the brand. Marketing spin is based not on creating customers, but on creating greater fools. That’s the big difference. A company based on marketing spin cuts itself off from the many ways that customers themselves can advance the business—as engaged and informed partners in the product process. The stronger the customer, the stronger the brand—and the business.
At present, Noka may be more a brand of marketing than it is a brand of chocolate.
The Noka brand challenge
If Noka aspires to be a trustworthy brand, it will come up with a fact-based, point-by-point rebuttal to the DallasFood piece in the very near future. The place for this is the Noka website, in public view, where it can also address public queries. This has to come from Noka’s owners themselves, as they are the stewards of Noka’s brand integrity. Brands have truth on their side, and truth in chocolate will define Noka’s future.
January 2nd, 2007 at 6:11 am
Disclosure: The following is being posted by a representative of NOKA Chocolate.
Thank you for your thoughtful post. The following statement was issued by Noah Houghton, president of NōKA Chocolate:
NōKA Chocolate appreciates having this opportunity to clarify the facts around several of the main points raised by an anonymous critic of our Company. We are passionate advocates for gourmet chocolate who devote a great deal of time and resources to educating the public not only about the fine points of chocolate quality and purity but also about the optimal tasting experience. As such, we are grateful for any attention that is devoted to fine chocolate. We do have concerns however, about a number of core accusations in the anonymous report:
NōKA Chocolate has never intended to suggest that the Company makes chocolate from “bean to bar” (roasting, grinding and otherwise processing cacao into couverture). In fact, we’ve sought to make this clear in numerous public statements. In an effort to further clarify this wherever possible we are reviewing all of our communications to ensure there is no room for misinterpretation.
NōKA Chocolate is proud of the fact that owner Katrina Merrem is a “chocolatier” (person or company who crafts couverture and other ingredients into chocolates, truffles and other confections). We have never intentionally suggested that she is a “chocolate maker” (engaged in roasting, grinding and otherwise processing cacao into couverture). All of our communications, including our Web site and a small booklet included with every gift we sell, identify Katrina as our chocolatier.
NōKA Chocolate stands by the statement that this is “our chocolate.” NōKA’s couverture is made to our strict specifications. We specify the source ingredients, the region from which the ingredients are sourced and the process by which the couverture is made. The quality and purity of our chocolates and truffles are above reproach, which is why NōKA Chocolate was the top ranked luxury chocolate in the world by the food editors of TASTE.
NōKA Chocolate considers information regarding our couverture to be proprietary. We respect supplier confidentiality and as such will not comment on speculation about any of our vendor partners. The non-disclosure of proprietary information is commonplace in the chocolate industry and the food industry in general. NōKA Chocolate’s couverture is made to our strict specifications. The Company is dedicated to creating the NōKA Chocolate experience with pure single-estate, dark chocolates and truffles.
A gift of NōKA Chocolate is a gift of the NōKA Chocolate Experience. The NōKA Chocolate experience ensures that magical moments and memories can be enjoyed by both the person who gives the gift of NōKA Chocolate and by the person who receives the gift. Each NōKA Chocolate gift is an experience that begins with the unique and elegantly designed packaging and encourages an appreciation by all the senses including the look, aroma, flavor and texture of our chocolates and truffles. The Optimal Tasting Guide and vividly descriptive Flavor Profiles included with each gift provide each gift recipient with the tools to enjoy his or her own chocolate tasting whether it be alone or a special event.
NōKA Chocolate is proud of our unique place in the market — providing people with another choice when selecting a special gift for themselves or for someone else. A pound-for-pound comparison that fails to consider the totality of the NōKA Chocolate experience will never accurately reflect the true value of our products. Each element contributes to the others.
It would be just as unthinkable to calculate the per-pound cost of a sterling silver bar and compare it to the per-pound cost of a piece of Tiffany sterling silver jewelry, while disregarding Tiffany’s standards for quality, the creativity of transforming the sterling silver bar into a beautiful piece of jewelry and the intrinsic value of the Tiffany Blue box in which the jewelry would be presented. We respect companies like Tiffany for their high standards, commitment to quality and dedication to customer service and their ability to create the Tiffany experience that their customers choose to enjoy. Our packaging, presentation and exceptional customer service are intrinsic elements that contribute to the NōKA Chocolate experience.
As passionate advocates for gourmet chocolate devoted to educating the public about the fine points of chocolate quality and purity, we take it very seriously when our Company and its products are scrutinized. In an effort to further clarify our role as a chocolatier, we have taken swift action and are reviewing all of our communications to ensure there is no room for misinterpretation. We also understand that there can be differences of opinion about the value of any product and we appreciate you taking the time to seek our point-of-view.
January 2nd, 2007 at 9:08 am
[...] Now, whatever you may think about Dan, at least he made some effort to customise his initial post to the discussion. Not so with the Noka statement. It’s rambling, vague, self-righteous, and verges on advertisement. Here, we see an expert on brands advising quick, full, public disclosure. In response, it gets the waffly nonsense. [...]
January 2nd, 2007 at 10:36 am
Noka’s non-response response really ought to be used in classes on communications, public relations, and crisis-management — as an example of what not to do. By failing to address any of the issues facing the company as a result of the DallasFood series, and by trying to invoke, simultaneously and with a very real air of desperation, the blessings of a satellite-TV food program (“TASTE”) and the example of a brand paragon like Tiffany, they just dig themselves ever deeper into what looks more and more like a thoroughly untenable position. If that’s the kind of services DPK Public Relations is giving them, I know where I’m not going next time I need a hand!
Here’s the question they will, sooner or later, have to answer: is Noka Chocolate made using Bonnat couverture, whose exacting standards match the specifications Noka requires? Everything else is spin.
January 2nd, 2007 at 3:26 pm
I’m glad Noka has released a statement (see above). Clarifying the meaning of “chocolatier” is certainly a positive step. But I have to ask: why don’t we see this information on the Noka website? That’s one of the premier places to build brand credibility—and it’s the first place people go to learn about Noka.
After reading the statement, I’d say that Noka still needs to address some critical points in the DallasFood analysis. I hope that they do, because real brands never back down from a fight. (And luxury brands are never wimps.)
Half-way through the statement we are steered away from the brand integrity issues raised by DallasFood and treated to a rhapsody about the “magical moments and memories” of “the Noka chocolate experience.” Brand-wise, this is not a good sign. “Magical moments and memories” sounds like the epitaph of a company that came and went and scarcely left a trace.
January 9th, 2007 at 1:42 pm
[...] Noka: brand crisis, or marketing spin meltdown?In late December the food site DallasFood.org published an in-depth, 10-part analysis of Noka chocolate, slicing through Noka?s promotional fluff to reveal the facts behind the ?luxury? chocolate that Noka sells at monumental mark-ups. . [...]
February 10th, 2007 at 6:43 pm
“But to justify its immense “luxury” prices, Noka must wave some magic wands.”
Is this the same a faiery dust?
February 11th, 2007 at 11:31 am
Fairy dust would certainly make an interesting “nutrition fact” on the box label.
Fairy dust is fine—if your customers are elves.