Samba Hard Mate, Brand Identity and Packaging Design

Samba is a hard maté brand created in Amsterdam for the European market, yet with its origins rooted in Brazil. The product concept is simple: authentic yerba maté, natural caffeine, and 4.6% alcohol in a 330ml can. The brand’s proposition, however, is more complex: to translate Brazilian energy for an audience that has never set foot in the country, all while avoiding postcard-style tropical clichés. This was the project's starting point. Brazilians abroad are often portrayed through a predicta