Just 574 To’ak chocolate bars were produced in 2014 using hand sorted, heirloom cacao beans harvested from rare Ecuadorian trees. Each bar is engraved with an individual number, packaged in a Spanish elm wooden box and comes with a specially designed tasting tool (touching the chocolate with your fingers can alter the flavour). A single 50gram bar will set you back $260.

Who decides what a chocolate bar is worth and on what evidence do they base that decision?
How do we know when to pay more or less?

Value is in the heart of the beholder. More often than not value is perceived, not calculated. It’s irrational, intangible, unpredictable and messy. The customer is not paying for the rare beans or even the tasting experience— she’s paying for the joy that believing the story brings her.

Value creation is the responsibility of the marketer. It’s our job to give people stories to believe in, not just advantages to measure.

Image by USAID.