Thumbnail Development

I want to develop A character that encapsulates the values of Tabasco Sauce, these values would have to be:

• Enduring 
• Unchanged
• Traditional
• Simple
• Spicy
• Organic

Out of my thumbnails I think that the anthropomorphic South American animals could work for my brand as it encapsulates the area in which the chili peppers are grown but also these South American animals have been surviving in the jungle for thousands of years without changing which goes with my brand values, also they get the essence of natural which also goes with my brand values.

Another thumbnail idea I had that could work was the ancient Aztec character as they were very traditional and unchanged by other societies, They were the civilization of South America far before anyone else and some of their buildings are still enduring today like Machu Picchu so this idea works with my brand values as-well.

I feel like the purely animal or insect thumbnails are not as strong and I don't think I could design such a strong character if I was doing a humanoid structure. For the style of design I think I want to design something more realistic than stylized as I think it would fit better with my Brand Values and also I am more interested in a realistic approach to design than a cartoony one.