Burma Burma seeks to bring the essence of Burmese food to households across the globe. Yet, to do so, the brand sought to share the extraordinary flavors, stories, and memories with consumers. The nine spices are each packaged as one-of-a-kind products, acting to inform consumers about each product’s details visually. Designed by Rushil Bhatnagar, each product can stand alone but is clearly part of a more extensive collection through the colors, symbols, and overall aesthetic.
Journey of Burma Burma’s food is inspired by their cofounder Ankit Gupta’s mother’s kitchen. Bringing the beauty of authentic Burmese cuisine to the forefront lies at the heart of what they do. Deep rooted connections with flavors, stories and nostalgia, and the sweet love of forgotten, handwritten recipes, they wanted to share it all with the world.
In 2021, while the Pandemic in India didn’t allow businesses and restaurants to operate at full, the challenge was set to how Burmese Food can reach to people, with easy to cook recipes and bringing the same comfort of a restaurant to home. Burma Burma Pantry acts as a gateway to Burmese Culture and Food, opening nine spices and condiments to Pan India with authentic flavors from Burma.
Pantry currently includes – Khowsuey Curry Paste, Spicy Laphet ( Pickled Leaves ), Laphet, Malar Sauce, Balachaung, Crunchy Nuts Mix, Lotus Stem Chips, Sunflower Seeds Snack, Burmese Seasoning Mix. The Traditional Artisans of Burma celebrate colors rooted in everything they pursue from crafting traditional Pagodas to lacquerware items that not only carries years of tradition but is also used in day to day life in Burma.
The packaging was set to establish a Design System within the nine pantry products, that would give them further value of a collectible artifact than just a spice box. Each product highlights a key visual element that best represents the specific aspect of the food. While introducing names such as Balachaung, Malar etc., unknown to a Pan Indian Audience, it was also important to establish familiarity that could be developed within time through colors and symbol system, as well as using the Burmese translation for each products.
The Design System of all nine elements sits at the bottom embedded in the line-work design present towards the bottom of the label. Each marked in off-white denotes the collection of that specific condiment. A Sub-System was kept in mind for denoting Spices which is established through the usage of more than one symbol in the center represented in an off white color ( For ex – Balachaung, Spicy Laphet ). Hence it was quite interesting to play and conceptualize as to how color and element could denote spices.
Each label aims to give an ode and a future forward approach to the most interesting artform existing out of Burma called Lacquerware through the design. The challenge was to keep it simple and pay homage to the tradition through the label, reflecting the product that has been made keeping in mind that it’s a piece from Ankit’s mother’s homeland that would sit in every household. While this also allowed freedom to explore Design and Culture, it was also a challenge on how to present a craft that is respected all over the country. Burma Burma Pantry is a celebration Design, Craft and Taste of Burma and available to shop at https://shopburmaburma.in/ https://burmaburma.in/
