While everyone was focused on the sweet taste of college football in London, some students were brewing up a different, chocolatey experience.
Partnering with Cadbury and Mondelēz International during London's 2026 Design Festival, the Design School at ASU brought students from graphic and industrial design to explore new ways to experience chocolate.
These forms came in many shapes and sizes. Focusing on three different aspects of life, students dove into their creative minds to create 12 unique designs with Gen Z in mind.
Caroline Alperin, a sophomore industrial design major, used Gen Z's love of blind boxes as inspiration for Cadbury Botanicals, a mystery box with six possible chocolate shapes inside.
Like many projects, this one had a double purpose. Focused on sustainability, the packaging can be planted to sprout wildflowers.
"Gen Z's very into blind boxes, but they become microtrends because they're not sustainable," Alperin said. "People collect all this extra plastic, and they're like, 'I need to touch grass.' So I was like, 'What if they actually touch grass?'"
Touching grass isn't the only way these students found to improve Gen Z's habits through chocolate.
Margaux Quam, a senior studying graphic design, and Sydney McCoy, a junior studying industrial design, worked together to build Cadbury Interlude, using Gen Z's snacking habits to create chocolatey treats built for different parts of the day.
Quam and McCoy emphasized the packaging element of these snacks. They workshopped different production ideas throughout the process, down to the lid.
"In terms of industrial design, the most development was with what the lid should be," Quam said. "We ended up with this lid, but initially we had a mechanism where you would pull from the bottom."
Working with Cadbury gave students the chance to get feedback from professionals on design elements, but the project's focus remained on the creative aspects of design and creation.
"We worked with an industry partner, so we were able to hear those things, but also they were like, 'show us what you got,'" Claire Ballard, a senior studying graphic design, said.
Ballard's project, Royal Treat, combined the "little treat" mentality with fun, wearable jewelry she loved while growing up, giving the treats a little glamor.
"It's a little bit goofy, but knowing that this was coming to London, I wanted to have the royalty element into it," Ballard said. "I was a dress-up child, lots of dress-up, lots of big jewels, and that inspired the form."
Ballard's challenge with her design was different from her peers. With the project tailored around Gen Z, she had to learn about the generation her classmates were born in.
Not only did she notice the generation’s "snacking habits," but she also saw how the other projects wanted to embrace being present in reality.
This was a common theme in the creations, finding a way to curate space away from modern technology and embrace the people around us.
Aanya Manickam, a senior studying industrial design, used this idea in Meldy, which was inspired by KitKats, to create a joint experience when enjoying the chocolate.
"Another thing that we've been seeing is a lot of people trying to slow down, go outside, eat in the park," Manickam said. "It's definitely to help you disconnect and make that eating experience less passive and more intentional."
With the next generation of designers using personal experience to develop these creations, the message these students provided through Cadbury and Mondelēz International was to enjoy the little things.
"Something like chocolate lets you slow down; it gives you that moment to either pause for yourself or spend some time with someone else," Ballard said. "It's a little rewarding moment."
Edited by Dhemi Bell, Emilio Alvarado and Sophia Keeling.
Reach the reporter at aldeutsc@asu.edu and follow @AlanDeutschend3 on X.
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Alan Deutschendorf is a Managing Editor at The State Press. This is his fifth semester, and he previously worked as a sports editor and sports reporter. Alan also works as an event assistant at ASU Health and spent two years playing D1 club roundnet.
