Fortnum & Mason Tune into Sonic Branding with Bars of Chocolate

Published 27 January 2026

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2 min read

Reaffirming our prediction of an upswing in sonic comms (see Look Ahead 2026: The Sonic Economy), and catering for the 73% of global consumers who think brands should engage all of their senses, British luxury department store Fortnum & Mason’s recent chocolate bar redesign is a multisensory convergence of flavour, sound and illustration, with packaging featuring custom-composed piano scores.

Created in partnership with London-based advertising agency Otherway, the new range, called Bars of Music, plays on the double meaning, referring to both sheet music and chocolate bars. Designed to reflect flavour through music and sound, each of the 16 chocolate variations includes a custom piano score (located on the inside wrapper) that’s gradually revealed as the chocolate is consumed.

To produce the musical pieces, Fortnum & Mason collaborated with music production studio Mcasso and composers Jasmine Meaden and Nathan Britton (all British). The miniature compositions, each between 10 and 20 bars of music, include high-pitched cascading musical phrases (designed to evoke twinkling stars) for the cosmic-themed Meet Me in the M*lky Way oat chocolate bar and a slower, romantic melody for A Song for Rose, a rose-infused dark chocolate bar.

In addition to the chocolate bars’ sonic element, their outer packaging, decorated with illustrations by Russian artist Victoria Semykina, leverages visual metaphors to bridge sound and taste. For example, the Salty Sea Dog Blues salted pretzel chocolate packaging depicts a wet dog shaking off seawater, distorting the bars of its sheet music background – indicating both the chocolate’s salty taste and the syncopated rhythm of the accompanying blues-inspired score.