Striving to celebrate the heritage of Cadbury Roses, foster meaningful connections and encourage Australia to say more through the gift of Cadbury Roses, the well-known chocolate brand has engaged in yet another collaboration with a popular First Nations artist.

This year Cadbury announced they would be partnering with Peek and Kirrae Whurrong woman and artist Bayley Mifsud (Merindah-Gunya).

Collaborating with Mifsud has seen the artist showcase her design across all limited-edition Cadbury Roses packs.

With the talented artist's design displaying her story of gratitude and connection, 'Ngootyoong' is a story Mifsud painted out of love and respect for her nan, further showcasing their connection and journey together.

Mifsud is grateful to her nan for giving her a sense of belonging, purpose, and pride in her Aboriginal culture. The pack showcases their everlasting and evolving relationship through paired people symbols that represent the moments and memories they've shared.

These symbols are encompassed by a journey line, representing the spiritual connection they also share.

"'Ngootyoong' is a story I painted out of love and respect for my nan, it showcases our spiritual connection and journey together," Mifsud said.

"I was inspired to paint this story as I am grateful for my nan for giving me a sense of belonging, purpose, and pride in my Aboriginal culture. The colour pallet of warm tones I have traditionally worked with also happen to be my nan's favourite colours as well…it was a perfect match."

In terms of how this collaborative partnership with Cadbury arose, Mifsud said it all came down to her business and social media growth since becoming an artist.

"The collaboration with Cadbury followed after the growth of my business and social media presence over the past year. When I received the call from Mondelez (Cadbury's marketing agency), waves of emotions flooded me —I was deeply moved and filled with immense joy at the thought of what this opportunity would mean for my family and community," Mifsud told Style Up.

When discussing what's next for the young artist and whether another foodie collaboration is possible, Mifsud mentions that she does indeed plan on engaging in more collaborations in 2024.

"I aim to grow the business further through other major collaborations as well as continuously partner with current relationships if the opportunity is there," she said.

Since becoming a full-time artist in 2023, Mifsud continues to celebrate and share an ancient tradition and further progress reconciliation through various pieces, including clothing, murals, youth art education and graphically chocolate boxes.

Whilst Mifsud is currently working on something big soon to be released in major retail stores including Big W, Kmart and Target (plus many more), she is conscious of not giving away too much just yet.

"This year my primary focus is to continue storytelling through art through some upcoming exciting projects," she said.

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