MIKUNA Editorial Style Guide — v3

Derived from The MIKUNA Brand Book v1.0 (Q2 2026), chapters 01, 02, 11, and 12. For AI-assisted content generation.

Brand name and terminology

• The brand is written MIKUNA, in all caps, in all generated copy. Never "Mikuna" or "Mikuna Foods."
• The ingredient is chocho, lowercase in running text. Capitalize in titles and product names: Pure Chocho Protein, Cacao Chocho Protein, Vanilla Chocho Protein, Cinnamon Horchata Chocho Protein.
• Botanical name: Lupinus mutabilis. Also acceptable: "Andean lupin."
• MIKUNA means "to nourish your body through food" in Kichwa, the native language of the Ecuadorian Andes.

Sourcing confidentiality

• Never name specific growing regions, towns, valleys, farms, cooperatives, or supplier companies in any content.
• Approved sourcing descriptors, and the only ones: "the Ecuadorian Andes," "11,000 feet," "Indigenous Kichwa farming communities," "2,500+ years."
• This applies to every surface: web copy, social, email, blog articles, sales materials, and all AI-generated content.

Positioning

• MIKUNA is a food company, not a supplement brand. It happens to produce the cleanest plant protein on the market. Every piece of copy should reflect that distinction.
• Core promise: Single-ingredient. Third-party verified. Traceable to the lot and the farm. If we can't prove it, we don't claim it.
• Signature construction: "Not Whey. Not Pea. Chocho." / "For people who read the label."
• We write like a magazine, not a supplement brand. We publish lab results instead of marketing claims.

Voice

Editorial. Confident. Scientific but warm. The tone of a writer who respects both the reader and the data.

• Confident: "We are the cleanest plant protein on the market because every lot is tested." Never "We might be the cleanest protein out there!"
• Editorial: "A protein 2,500+ years in the making, grown at 11,000 feet." Never "Ancient superfood with MEGA protein content!"
• Scientific: "Lead measured below the laboratory's limit of quantification." Never "Heavy metals are basically undetectable!"
• Warm: "If you ever have a question about what's in the bag, email me directly." Never "DM us for a 15% off code!!"
• Respectful: "Cultivated by Indigenous Kichwa communities for over 2,500 years." Never "our proprietary ancient-grains blend."
• Precise: Name the actual threshold, method, or number. Never vague reassurance like "well below the warning level."
• Brief: When uncertain, say less. Silence reads as confidence; wall-of-text reads as insecurity.

Tone by surface

Voice is fixed; tone shifts by channel.

• Test-results / lab pages — lead with data; precise, reserved.
• Educational pages (What Is Chocho) — lead with story; editorial, curious.
• Homepage / hero — lead with promise; bold, declarative.
• Welcome email — lead with relationship; warm, founder-led.
• Product pages — lead with utility and proof; practical, specific ("20g protein, 8g fiber, 0g sugar. Eurofins verified.").
• Social — lead with a moment; editorial, sparse ("11,000 feet. No irrigation. Just rain.").
• Retail / POP — lead with distinction; short, confident.
• B2B / foodservice — lead with capability; technical, respectful.

Writing rules

1. Paraphrase before quoting. Direct quotes only when exact wording carries legal or historical weight.
2. Never disparage competitors by name. Compare categories, not brands. "Most plant proteins are blends" — yes. "Unlike Orgain" — never.
3. Credit Indigenous Kichwa farming communities as the stewards of chocho. Never "my family" or founder-heritage framing.
4. Use lab-accurate language: "non-detect" and "below LOQ," never "undetectable." "MADL," never "warning level."
5. Specific over abstract: "11,000 feet" over "high altitude." "2,500+ years" over "ancient." (11,000 feet is the canonical figure.)
6. No hype. No "MEGA," "EPIC," "game-changer." No all-caps shouting. No exclamation marks.
7. One claim at a time. If a sentence makes three claims, it makes zero.
8. Em dashes are an editorial signature on site and social — but never in emails or outreach copy. In email, restructure with commas or periods instead.
9. Smart quotes and smart apostrophes, always. Serial comma. Numerals for measurements (20g, 8g, 11,000 feet).
10. When uncertain, say less.

Approved product facts

Use exactly; do not extrapolate.

• 20g of complete protein per serving; all nine essential amino acids; 8g of fiber; 0g added sugar.
• Single ingredient (Pure SKU): no gums, fillers, stevia, sweeteners, or natural flavors.
• Every production lot independently tested by Eurofins; results published.
• Grown at 11,000 feet in the Ecuadorian Andes; stewarded by Indigenous Kichwa farming communities for 2,500+ years.
• Chocho fixes nitrogen into the soil and grows on rainwater alone.
• Certified B Corporation.

Lab data language — say this, not that

• Lead: "reported non-detect" / "below laboratory limit of quantification" — never "heavy metals undetectable."
• Prop 65: "California Prop 65 MADL for reproductive toxicity (0.5 µg/day)" — never "Prop 65 warning level" or "California safety threshold."
• FDA values: "FDA Interim Reference Level" / "FDA dietary guidance value" — never "FDA-approved" or "FDA regulatory ceiling."
• Testing cadence: "every production lot independently tested" — never "rigorously tested" or "always pure."
• Pesticides: "no detected residues across 50+ screened compounds" — never "pesticide-free" or "zero pesticides."
• PFAS: "no detected PFAS above reporting limits" — never "PFAS-free."
• Gluten: "<3 ppm, below the FDA 20 ppm gluten-free threshold" — do not claim "gluten-free" outright unless officially certified.
• Any claim tied to a lab result must carry: lot number, test date, laboratory name, method, and a note that results reflect the specific lot tested.

Health claims — hard limits

MIKUNA markets a food. No disease claims, no structure-function claims, no therapeutic claims.

• Never: "Boosts immunity." "Helps lower cholesterol." "Supports muscle recovery." "Reduces inflammation." "Promotes gut health."
• Safe: "20g of protein per serving." "Complete amino acid profile." "High in dietary fiber." "Zero added sugar."
• GLP-1 content: supportive nutrition framing only ("protein and fiber support for people on GLP-1 medications"). Never imply treatment, enhancement of medication, or weight-loss outcomes.
• Nutrient-content claims must meet FDA 21 CFR 101.54 thresholds.

Comparative content

• Category critique is allowed and encouraged: "Most plant proteins are blends — MIKUNA is a single ingredient."
• Targeted attacks are forbidden: no "unlike [brand]," no "better than [brand]," no "what the big brands don't want you to know."
• Comparison tables may name competitors only if every cell is substantiated with a public source (USDA data, the competitor's own COA or label).
• Any content naming a specific competitor requires legal review before publication.

Social and editorial

• Captions use one of three modes: editorial (100–180 words), sparse (1–2 sentences), or data (single headline + source citation).
• Hashtags: three maximum, all brand-owned or founder-adjacent. Never #plantbased, #wellness, #protein, or other category-diluting tags.
• Articles: 1,500–3,500 words for flagship pieces; 400–700 for recipes and how-tos. Below 400 words belongs in social, not the blog.
• Every factual claim in long-form carries an inline reference. PubMed, FAO, and peer-reviewed journals preferred.
• Newsletter is "MIKUNA Journal" — an editorial dispatch, not a promotional email. Subject lines read like magazine section headers ("Harvest, October" · "On amino acids").
• Taboo topics: no body-transformation content, no diet warfare (keto vs. vegan vs. carnivore), no anti-competitor pieces, no fear-based listicles.
• SEO approach: write for readers first, optimize headers and schema second. Never keyword-stuff.

Do / Don't

Do: "Chocho grows at 11,000 feet in the Ecuadorian Andes, where Kichwa farming communities have stewarded it for 2,500+ years." Don't: "Our revolutionary Andean superfood will supercharge your wellness journey!"

Do: "One ingredient. 20g of complete protein." Don't: "Packed with protein, fiber, amino acids, and clean energy to fuel your best life."

Do: "Every lot is tested by Eurofins. See the results." Don't: "Undetectable heavy metals, guaranteed!"