Interface

The Sound of Chocolate with Hugo & Victor

Creating a sound to accompany a taste

How to taste chocolate through sound

Chocolate plays a leading role in our major events and annual celebrations, enjoyed on its own or given as a gift. It can be savored as a delicacy and appreciated by connoisseurs. Its taste is a vehicle for the imagination and acts on the sensory memory.

Chocolate can also attest to the creativity of the greatest master chocolate makers. Their taste variations become a signature and highlight their mastery.

So how can you stand out, make your uniqueness known to the greatest number of people, when your chocolate is available only in a few shops? How can you make people discover your creations online without managing to taste any of it?

Hugo & Victor is the signature brand of the creations of chocolate chef Hugues Pouget. With addresses in Japan and Korea, as well as his main shop in Paris since 2010, his pastry workshop in the Yvelines and his chocolate factory in the Loiret, Hugues is a passionate and curious chef who is always looking to go further in the tasting experience he offers to his customers. And he is interested in sharing his innovations with the widest array of people, beyond his connoisseur customers.

This is why Hugues Pouget has teamed up with IRCAM amplify to co-create the sound of two of his company’s emblematic chocolates:

“Le mendiant”, a classic chocolate familiar to everyone, but reworked as a signature of Maison Hugo & Victor, in dark or milk chocolate, as well as a vegan variation using almond milk
A combawa leaf ganache, one of the chocolate maker’s latest creations

Thus, together, Ircam amplify and Maison Hugo & Victor House were able to:

convey the sensations provided by these two chocolates through sound, to reach people who do not have access to them. This dimension allows for innovation in e-retail and digital communications in particular.
amplify sensations when taste and sound are used together. This dimension means new experiences in shops or events.

This multi-sensory experience helps Hugo & Victor to stand out, to promote its creations in a different way, but also to affirm the company’s commitment to innovation.

This demo was enjoyed live by 500 people during the Powers of Sound Forum and evening, organized by IRCAM amplify on 6 April 2023.

IRCAM amplify

– Romain Barthélémy, sound designer, with Marion Laporte, Juliette Bezier, Elsa Courtois, Etienne Guffroy, and Vincent Meurisse

IRCAM amplify relied on the scientific methodology called SpeaK©, set up by the “Perception and Sound Design” staff of the Sciences and Techniques of Music and Sound laboratory (IRCAM, CNRS, Sorbonne University, French Ministry of Culture).

Hugo & Victor

– Hugues Pouget, founder of Hugo & Victor and chef of Mazet Confiseur with Diane Marlin

In 2010, Hugues Pouget founded the Hugo & Victor patisserie, where he places the emphasis on seasonal flavors and fruits, allowing him to create authentic and fresh desserts and chocolates by combining modernity and tradition. He bans additives and dyes and uses only natural resources such as fruit and vegetable powders or spices to color his chocolates or macaroons.