On special occasions, such as birthdays, graduations, and other celebrations, geologists, Earth scientists, and other rock enthusiasts frequently receive rocks or crystals as gifts.

While the sentiment is appreciated, often these gifts lack thoughtfulness and can become repetitive.
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This mineral candy product will fill a much-needed void in the market for geology-themed gifts by elevating an old-fashioned product to be used as a gift for academics and enthusiasts of rocks and minerals.

Kohakutou (僖倆愧, or "amber sugar") is a type of Japanese confection often served with matcha for tea ceremonies. Similar to rock candy, this candy also includes agar agar, which results in a firm jelly texture with a crunchy exterior shell.
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This product has the benefit of appearing crystalline, similar to rock candy, but allows  flexibility in creating specific crystal forms and sizes. It is also less fragile, meaning the packaging can be  more accommodating.

As a gift for rock and mineral enthusiasts, this product would be sold at academic meetings such as the American Geophysical Union conference, which regularly sees over 25,000 attendees, the Geological Society of America conference, and more.
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Rock, mineral, and gem shows, such as the Tucson Gem and Mineral show, would expand the audience to casual enthusiasts.
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Gift shops at natural history museums and geologically-oriented state and national parks, such as Death Valley, Big Bend, Arches, and Grand Canyon, would also carry this product as an elegant gift or souvenir.

As an elevated gift for rock enthusiasts, the logo design pays homage to the long history of handcrafted candy-making, while providing an expectation for the refined high-quality product expected for gift-giving.

The color palette for the graphic system is based on the Munsell Rock Color Chart, used in  geology to systematically describe the color of rock samples found in the field.

After boiling water, agar agar and sugar are mixed in and dissolved, then poured into heatproof containers to set. Many different flavors, including apple, pineapple, blueberry, matcha, and black cherry, were made with varying colors and amounts of mixing. After cooling, the candy is cut into different shapes prior to final hardening.

Sugarite's package design draws inspiration from the crystal system of table sugar, a classification system used in crystallography to describe crystal form and symmetry. Table sugar falls under the monoclinic crystal system, meaning it is a rectangular prism with a parallelogrammatic base.

The packaging uses a rigid box construction for its durability to be reused as a display case for rock samples. Unlike a traditional rigid box construction, the candies are separated by walls in the lid rather than in the base, to draw attention to the beauty of the candies when unboxed.

The rigid box is constructed from Beloit Box Board 100% Recycled 46pt chipboard.

The base uses  a Neenah Slide™ White 81lb Text (FSC certified) box wrap printed with offset lithography.

The lid uses a Neenah LEATHERLIKE® White 85lb Cover (FSC certified) box wrap for the exterior, and a ROYAL SUNDANCE® Balsa, Fiber finish, 80lb Cover (FSC® certified, 30% post-consumer, Green Seal™ certified, processed chlorine-free) box wrap for the interior, printed with offset lithography and foil stamping.

The label is a Neenah Environment Desert Storm, smooth finish, 130lb Double Thick Cover (Green-e certified, Green Seal™ certified, 100% post-consumer, processed
chlorine-free) printed with offset lithography.