Perth, Australia-based YOWIE Group LTD. launched its ‘Rescue Series’ chocolate line on Monday in partnership with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). As part of this collaboration, YOWIE Group’s Rescue Series will contribute $25,000 to support WCS’s global conservation program, and will feature the WCS logo on its packaging.

“We are thrilled to launch our Rescue Series and continue our partnership with WCS,” said Bert Alfonso, YOWIE Group’s ceo. “Through our ongoing efforts and new series, we’ve been able to support WCS’s field conservation work around the world, while WCS has enriched our educational materials and furthered our mission to save the natural world.”

The Rescue Series collectibles will introduce new Grumkin characters Spark, Crusha, Gnash, Sludge, Oooze, and Crudd, as well as YOWIE Yog, Yopter and Yurt. The ‘Rescue Series’ Critically Endangered species includes the black rhinoceros, Western Lowland gorilla, Chinese pangolin, orange-bellied parrot and the Bactrian camel.

The Rescue Series Endangered species includes the Lar gibbon, Tasmanian devil, numbat and chimpanzee while the Vulnerable species includes the red panda, blue-winged goose, hippopotamus and the African bush elephant. The Rescue Series Near Threatened species includes the sun bear, strange-nosed chameleon, Southern ground hornbill and the lion.

“We are thrilled to be a part of YOWIE’s new Rescue Series line,” said Joe Walston, WCS Vice President for Global Conservation. “The YOWIE mission aligns with ours, and we are excited to spread awareness of the YOWIE Rescue Series endangered species in our combined efforts to educate children and adults on how they can make a difference in the natural world.” 

YOWIE is best known for its hollow milk chocolates, which contain a limited-edition replica of a wild animal — including many species under the real threat of extinction — accompanied by an educational leaflet, directing consumers to YOWIEworld.com and the YOWIE app to play and learn more about saving the natural world.

YOWIE Group’s Rescue Series is the third series of YOWIE chocolate products, adding to the brand’s extensive collection of 77 limited-edition wild animal replicas and continuing YOWIE Group’s efforts to educate children and adults alike about ecology and the environment through creativity and play.

Supporting the launch is a digital marketing strategy including YouTube influencers Family Fun Pack (who have had over 10 billion views on their channel), a 120-second hero video, and a 30-second commercial spot directed by 17-year old film director Joji Baratelli (Adolescent Content).

“The Rescue Series was the best opportunity to see real conversion from impulse to collectors as we are now in our third year of promoting the ‘confection with a cause’ brand which has already sold tens of millions of units in the United States,” says Cove Overley, Global CMO of YOWIE Group. “Joji provided the perfect youthful creative to help us continue our awareness strategy, and we look forward to more peer-to-peer youth creative in future campaigns. We will support the launch of the Rescue Series with a social channel distribution and marketing activations throughout the fall.”