Machiyenga Tree to Bar
Machiyenga is a bean-to-bar chocolate from Cuzco, Peru. The name stems from Machiguenga, an indigenous community whose ancestors inhabited the western part of Cusco, known as Antisuyo during the Incan empire. The Machiguenga used Chuncho cacao as a fruit and as a commercial product, a practise that continues to this day. This very same Chuncho cacao is what Machiyenga chocolate uses to create its bars.
The goal was to create a brand that is premium quality yet indigenous. As the chocolate was going to be sold mainly in Cuzco and to tourists, it was important that the brand identity and packaging felt Peruvian, but without falling into the cliché of traditional Peurvian imagery, but rather a more polished and modern aesthetic, representing today’s contemporary Peru but in keeping with the mysticism of our ancestors.
The solution was to create a product that stood out from its pre-existing competitors on the market, from the shape all the way to the material used when printing. Graphically, Peruvian geometry found in Incan art and architecture has been reinterpreted and was applied to the typography and graphic details. Also, patterns that are used in Machiguenga art have also been incorporated to create a pattern that serves as a graphic support, applied directly to the packaging. Lastly, the print finishes were carefully chosen to complement the idea of having a unique and functional package. Copper foil was used as one of the main print finishes as it represents gold, a metal sent down by the sun god and thus considered sacred during the Incan period.
Photos by Sumiko Miura
