Pencali is a gourmet and organic brand of nopal plants grown and harvested in the land of Milpa Alta, México, the most important region in the country for the production and distribution of these edible cacti.

Nopales have a powerful symbolic meaning for Mexican people. Associated with the national identity and with the arid lands of the semi-desert, we had the challenge of turning this product into a singular and high-quality brand. We created a system that distinguishes the different types of preparation based on the color of the label.

The icon, based on Milpa Alta's distinctive plateau, identifies the brand with a clean and transparent mood for a product usually associated with a dusty and arid environment. All the labels and packaging were designed on a simple white  canvas to avoid the Mexican clichés associated with the imagery of the nopal.

The naming came out from the union the Spanish word “penca” –a derivative of the Latin word “pedis”, which means “foot” and referring to the leaf growing from the foot of the plant–, and the Nahuatl word “calli”, which means “home or house”. Pencali is, thus, “the house of leaves”.

‍

‍