Mata Viva

Design: Victor Biasi
Location: Brazil
Project Type: Produced
Client: Palmitos Mata Viva
Product Launch Location: Brazil
Packaging Contents: Heart of palm
Packaging Substrate / Materials: Glass jar
Printing Process: Flexography

Heart of palm is a vegetable harvested from the inner core of certain palm trees. They are widely consumed in Brazilian cuisine, from appetizer to sophisticated dishes from world-class chefs.

The name “MATA VIVA”, means a living forest, which means, a forest that has its own ecosystem in constant interaction and without a destructive interference of man. The cultivation of the heart of palm is done in a green handmade way, valuing the family farming and the presence of man in the field. Their crops are sustainable and guarantee the preservation of forests.

THE PROBLEM
The vast majority of the national heart of palm producers has never tried anything new for this unique product, just using an obsolete selling concept of naming the product “premium” without offering a real differential. They have been doing the packing and selling without changes or approaches for years, which consists of putting the “premium” word on the package in black and gold trying to associate with richness and extra quality.

MATA VIVA has an extensive product portfolio compared to competitors. In addition to the “whole” heart of palm cut (most traditional cut), they have several innovative cuts that consumers are not used to consuming. The packaging needs to help the client to see fast and easily what type of cut it is and how it can be used in their dishes.

THE SOLUTION
Change mindset- The first step was to leave the old market standard and escape the generic concept of “premium”. The new communication effort will focus on a healthy lifestyle and benefits of the heart of palm.

Leave black’n’gold behind – A new color palette was created for the product line to help in the recognition and differentiation of each cut. The colors of each item were defined using a temperature scale based on how each cut is consumed. For example, “whole” and “round” cuts are traditionally eaten as appetizers or in salads, therefore, consumed cold, so they will have a colder spectrum of colors like green and blue. The cuts “soup” and “lasagna” are more common to be used in hot dishes, consequently a warmer spectrum of colors like orange and red.

Highlight the asymmetry – Nature has its imperfect way of being perfect. Everything is organic, alive and irregular. As we wanted to value the idea of ​​being natural and healthy, we worked with irregular shapes and changed the typography to look something more asymmetrical, alive and in constant motion.

What’s Unique?
An Indian style symbol for each cut! In order to better separate the products and make the consumer choice easier, a symbol was created for each type of cut. The drawing style was inspired by the paintings and art products of the native Indians of Brazil. We also tried to find graphic ways of representing the shape characteristics of each heart of the palm cut.