A Llanidloes based company has collaborated with another Welsh heavy-hitter to bring bilingual packaging to the high street.

The eye-catching artwork of Driftwood Designs will now adorn the packaging of clever chocolate makers Coco Pzazz, resulting in a product that is pleasing to both the eye and the tastebuds.

The Coco Pzazz brand have worked with a wide range of artists to create beautiful wrappings that are also completely eco-friendly. Now, they have turned to Driftwood Designs, based in Aberystwyth.

Coco Pzazz and Driftwood Designs have wanted to work together for years but, being two small and exceptionally busy companies, it took a long time to get something into place. The result, however, is worth the wait: a range of chocolates that look as amazing as they taste.

Together they have also drawn on their joint Welsh heritage with Lizzie Spikes, Driftwood’s artist, providing Coco Pzazz’s first bilingual packaging.

The designs themselves each have a greeting in Welsh on the front, plus a description of the chocolate bar in both Welsh and English. This is not a token effort; everything is shown in both languages, right down to the nutritional information on the back.

Coco Pzazz founder Lorraine Whinn has loved Lizzie’s work and designs for a long time: “They aren’t just pretty and colourful, they are also a little irreverent, and whenever I see them, I want to smile. Just like tasting great chocolate, they bring happiness.”

There are four bespoke designs, with two bars sporting patchwork heart designs, channelling Driftwood’s signature Canlon design, a traditional Welsh dragon, Y Ddraig Goch, and a quaint and quirky Welsh village scene perfect for dog lovers.

Distributors of Coco Pzazz were given a preview of the new designs, and they love the bilingual packaging.

There is a strong synergy between Driftwood Designs and Coco Pzazz. They are both small companies that started on a kitchen table, they are both rapidly growing, hugely popular, and have all-female teams. They both embrace their Welsh heritage and are passionate about every aspect of their business. But it is their green ethos that makes the two companies a match.

Lizzie Spikes from Driftwood Designs said: “We love sourcing new Welsh-made products for our customers and the chocolate company Coco Pzazz being based just 40 miles up the road in Llanidloes is a perfect fit. I had great fun creating the designs for the packaging and I’m going to thoroughly enjoy watching our customers savour the truly amazing chocolate inside. The girls may have to keep me away from the salted caramel, though!”

Lorraine Whinn said: “It is a running joke at Coco Pzazz that my favourite job is sourcing packaging, rather than testing the chocolate, which is everyone else’s favourite job. The design on the packaging really does play a huge part in selling our chocolate. In fact, many customers pick up Coco Pzazz chocolate without even knowing if it tastes good. Although I can assure you it really does! This collaboration with Driftwood Designs is bound to see customers ‘buying with their eyes’ more than ever.”

You can find Coco Pzazz chocolate with Driftwood’s designs across the UK in gift shops, delis, farm shops, food halls, garden centres, heritage sites, and community and convenience stores.