Deciding to go ahead with a new business plan in spite of the pandemic has well and truly paid off for Maggie Quirk.
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Her small business Deva Cacao has taken away an accolade for the beautiful packaging design of her chocolate, hand-made right here in Tamworth.
Winning the award for Packaging Design section of the Good Design Australia Awards, the East Tamworth business wasn't initially going to go through with the planned package overhaul.
Watch the video below to hear their story:
"The design took almost a year to plan, and when the pandemic hit we were starting to wonder if we should call it off or wait," Maggie explained.
"But we thought, let's do it. And it turned out to be a really good thing."
The work was done in collaboration with graphic designer Alyson Pearson, who lovingly did the intricate pen sketches keeping the essence of the brand.
Beautiful is not the only thing checked off their must-have list: It is also biodegradable and produced sustainabley.
The organic raw chocolate, sweetened only with Australian bush honey, is packaged in fully certified home compostable pouches and recycled cardboard boxes.
Plus, each block has an inspirational Dr Seuss quote. The judges were highly impressed.
"I think now more than ever we are focusing on local and Australian made produce," she explained.
"The pandemic has been good in a way because people are becoming more aware of what is produced right here.
"The camaraderie that has come out in these tough times is amazing."
Dr. Brandon Gien, CEO of Good Design Australia said receiving a Good Design Award is a significant achievement, especially "given the very high calibre and record number of entries received in 2020."
An astonishing 835 design projects were evaluated in this year's international design awards.
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"Visually, this is a beautiful design which solves the design challenge - communicating natural simplicity and integrity," the judges' comment read.
"The design is lovely, and the family work beautifully together. The packaging system is innovative and a good news story.
"The product stands out with what makes it great: local, natural, simple. Well done."