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Xcaanda

Brand strategy, identity and interior design for an Ensenada coffee roaster with Zapotec roots, built from the myths, symbols and stories of Oaxaca.

Client

Xcaanda

Place

Ensenada, Baja California

Scope

Strategy + Branding + Interior Design

YEAR

2024

The brief

Born in Ensenada. Rooted in Oaxaca.

Xcaanda is a specialty coffee roaster in Ensenada, Baja California, but its story starts two thousand kilometers south, in Teotitlán del Valle, Oaxaca, where founder Yael Cruz's family comes from a line of Zapotec coffee growers. The brand had grown on passion and word of mouth, without a clear definition behind it. Yael wanted a brand that could align the team, tell that origin story honestly and support the business as it expanded into beans, merchandise and new experiences.

The process

Strategy

We started with the people. In workshops with the Xcaanda team, we defined the culture, voice, customers and the one thing that makes the brand different: its history. From there we mapped the customer journey from casual first visit to devoted regular, and ranked business priorities across revenue, awareness and operations.

Research

We studied Zapotec history, myth and craft: the story of King Cosijoeza and his family, the legend of Princess Donají, and the geometric language woven into Teotitlán's rugs. Every visual element had to trace back to something real.

Identity

The logo is a tribute to Cosijoeza, the Zapotec ruler whose triumphs, losses and legacy anchor the brand. Around it, we built a system of secondary symbols drawn from Zapotec cosmology, including the stepped Ciclo de la Vida, plus a series of hand-drawn Oaxacan animals filled with floral patterns. Earthy copper, deep navy and a slogan tie it together: Sueños e Ilusiones por el Café.

Photography & Applications

We set a photographic language of warm tones, deep green shadows and soft focus, as dreamlike as the stories behind the brand. Then we carried the system across the menu, coffee bags, merchandise, signage and seasonal pieces.

The outcome

Every cup tells a story. Now the brand does too.

Xcaanda now has a brand as rich as its origin: a clear strategy the team can act on, an identity grounded in real Zapotec history, and a visual system that stretches from the espresso bar to the merch shelf. Customers don't just buy coffee. They find out where it comes from

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