From British Favorite to Americans’ First Sip
Hotel Chocolat is a household name in the UK, a premium chocolatier known for bold flavors, thoughtful design, and a cult-favorite appliance: the Velvetiser. With strong brand equity at home and new backing from Mars, the brand set its sights on the U.S. market.
But this was more than just simply an expansion, it was a meticulous repositioning challenge. Hot chocolate in the U.S. is often seasonal, nostalgic, and kid-coded. For Hotel Chocolat, the Velvetiser was not only a product launch, but also a re-education moment: a chance to reframe hot chocolate as a daily ritual, an indulgent pause, and a lifestyle choice.
To land with a new generation of U.S. consumers, the brand needed true influence. It had to show, not tell, how the Velvetiser fits into real routines and aspirational aesthetics, while keeping its premium positioning intact.
Cracking the U.S. Market, One Velvetiser at a Time
Hotel Chocolat had premium positioning and a cult following in the UK, but in the U.S., it was starting from scratch. Most consumers hadn’t heard of the brand, let alone its hero product.
To make the Velvetiser resonate, Hotel Chocolat had to do more than drive awareness, it had to introduce a new category, reframe hot chocolate as a lifestyle ritual, and convert curiosity into action. All without diluting its elevated positioning.
As part of this shift, Hotel Chocolat aimed to:
Drive brand awareness and relevance among U.S. consumers- Position the Velvetiser as a year-round ritual, not a seasonal indulgence
- Shift away from underperforming UGC assets toward premium, curated creator content
- Hit internal CAC target and improve overall asset efficiency
- Increase traffic and conversion from influencer content while reducing creative fatigue
That meant finding a partner who could pair sharp execution with premium storytelling. That’s where Kyra came in.
From Seasonal Treat to Everyday Ritual
Kyra built and ran a multi-workflow creator program that repositioned the Velvetiser as a lifestyle essential for U.S. audiences. Through Collectives, Makers, and strategic Seeding, we worked with creators whose personal brands aligned with Hotel Chocolat’s core values: cozy luxury, quiet indulgence, and thoughtful living.
Rather than focusing on pushing product, creators showed the Velvetiser as part of their real lives. Moments of unwinding after work, slow weekend mornings, and elevated self-care routines were captured with intention, blending aesthetic visuals with sensory storytelling.
We activated influencer archetypes across homemakers, storytellers, and food creators to stretch use cases, styling approaches, and emotional resonance. Each creative brief invited personal interpretation, turning content into something that felt native, not scripted.
Behind the scenes, Kyra’s platform made scale and quality control seamless, from casting and briefing to performance tracking and paid reuse. Our campaigns team optimized in real-time, extending top-performing content across channels and ensuring every asset worked harder for longer. The result: content that sold the feeling first, product second.
Rituals That Resonate (and Perform)
In just two months, Kyra helped Hotel Chocolat break into the U.S. market with content that felt aspirational, personal, and built to convert.
- 4M+ views
- 12.5% engagement rate
- 20 ad-ready assets
More than just a content lift, the campaign created a foundation for brand momentum in a new market, shifting perception of the Velvetiser from niche indulgence to a daily ritual worth investing in.