Newcomer brand Beyond Dark wanted a bigger bite of the UK’s dark chocolate market; a category dominated by established brands, all with different and very distinct offerings: Green & Blacks (Organic), Divine (Fairtrade), and Lindt (Craftsmanship).

Beyond Dark teamed with scientists from Birkbeck University and Myndplay, an ‘EEG’ (electroencephalogram) technology provider, to conduct a mass-participation pleasure experiment.

To support our ‘Measure of Pleasure’, a website (MeasureofPleasure.co.uk) was created and the Beyond Dark twitter feed was taken-over (@beyonddarkdrops) to engage journalists, influencers and consumers – inviting participation in ground-breaking research.

100 volunteers (including bloggers and journalists) were assembled and fitted with the latest ‘EEG’ headsets, calibrated to measure brainwaves against a specially commissioned pleasure algorithm. Participants took tests, from blowing bubbles to stroking kittens – all measured on a scale against a single drop of Beyond Dark.

Participants were provided with tools to share their experiences and results were released in a documentary and news releases on ‘Blue Monday’, officially the nation’s most depressing day. Targeting national, trade, broadcast and online influencers we could scientifically prove emotional brand claims, for the very first time.

Our happy news got foodies, scientists and advertising world talking, resulting in an immediate sales uplift of 50% on the day the news was released. All the headlines, TV coverage, 7000 new Twitter followers, and over 2000 inbound links propelled Beyond Dark from page 22 to the top of UK search rankings for ‘dark chocolate’. This attention persuaded several retailers to stock Beyond Dark while Sainsbury’s, one of the UK’s biggest supermarkets, doubled distribution and took on new flavours. After two months, Beyond Dark sales were up 327% – a very pleasurable sales uplift that continues to climb.