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Coffee packaging has changed and evolved a lot over time. The packaging is the initial sensory contact between the customers and the brand and influences them to purchase the product.
Companies have adopted new trends in coffee packaging to influence the customers into buying their products. Some of the key trends in coffee bag designs are as follows:
Flexible Packaging
Coffee is being increasingly packaged in flexible bags as they are lightweight and also easy to display on the shelves. They are highly stackable and it reduces the transportation cost also.
The flexible packaging is cost-effective compared to the traditional rigid packaging and also provides excellent moisture protection which is critical for keeping the coffee fresh.
Flexible packaging also allows for excellent quality graphics printing which makes the overall packaging very attractive.
Minimalistic Design
The packaging of the coffee has moved to be minimalistic. Customers are more likely to purchase coffee which has a neat and minimalistic packaging compared to coffee which is cluttered with lots of information on the packaging.
Simple packaging which communicates the message to the customers in minimum words is the current trend in coffee packaging.
Eco-Friendly Packaging
Most of the coffee bags are eco-friendly and sustainable in a push in moving towards a greener and cleaner world.
The coffee manufacturers make their packaging recyclable which in addition to being eco-friendly also leaves a positive impact on the customers about the brand. Customers are less likely to purchase non-recyclable packaging which poses a threat to the environment.
How Coffee Bags Increase Coffee Sales
The packaging is an important element of marketing and selling coffee. The packaging is the first visual cue which the customer gets of the product and it considerably influences their purchase decisions.
Here is a showcase about the gift boxes we made for Starbucks:
The packaging helps to create brand awareness and brand consistency. It helps to differentiate the product from the competition and leads to brand reinforcement.
It is also established that the customers feel an emotional attachment to the brands if they like its packaging. Some recent studies claim that one-third of the customer’s buying decisions are based on the packaging of the product.
The importance of packaging is even more important for coffee. Customers generally form perceptions and judge coffee by the colors of the packaging, typography, and the overall features of the packaging.
The packaging of the coffee should also depict the different features of the product like its country of origin, roast type, the intensity of the roast, flavors, etc.
These are very important information which aids the customers to process and evaluate the coffee they are buying. Coffee grown in different geographical locations are different and the customers can purchase after considering their taste and the taste which each geographical location has to offer.
The colors and graphics used in the packaging also tell the story of the brand and souring of the coffee which positively influences the customers.
Coffee is a product which is frequently purchased and good packaging can enhance the feel of the product for the customers. They will form better brand perception and will be influenced in making the purchase decision.
Considerations for Designing Coffee Bags
Packaging the coffee is an important part of the business as it should benefit and offer value to both the coffee brand and its customers. A well-designed coffee bag should be able to capture the essence of the brand and win the hearts of the customers.
The ideal packaging should differentiate the brand from the competition. There are many considerations which go into designing a good coffee bag which is as follows:
Country of Origin
Coffee is grown in different countries and some geographical locations are more suited for growing excellent coffee. Some countries are known to produce better coffee compared to others.
Thus, the country of origin of the coffee is an important identifier and should be clearly mentioned on the coffee bag. The more informed and well-versed customers can easily relate to the features and quality of the coffee from the country of origin.
Like the Sumatran coffees are generally developed as full-bodied and spicy coffee. This information will not only help the customers to learn more about the features of coffees from different countries, but it will also improve their repurchase decisions.
Neat and Consistent Packaging
The feel of the packaging is important as it influences the customers towards purchasing the coffee.
The packaging should be neat and clutter-free. The trend is towards using bold colors as they stand out and catch the customer’s attention when displayed on the shelves.
The color, when used consistently, becomes the brand color and customers associate that color with the specific brand of coffee.
The packaging bag should also provide utility and convenience to the customers. It should come with ziplock with the resealing option which enables the customers to reseal the packaging after using the coffee. This keeps the coffee fresh for longer.
Barrier Properties of Packaging
The packaging should be done in a manner to ensure that it remains airtight which will preserve the coffee for longer. The coffee bags should have a degassing valve which lets the CO2 out of the bags after the coffee beans are roasted.
The coffee bags should be sealed with a heat sealer for the degassing valve to work. Coffee is highly sensitive to external elements like oxygen, UV light, etc. and it should be protected from exposure to such elements to preserve it.
The packaging bags should have barriers to protect from the elements. Coffee bags come with barriers made of a metalized or pure aluminum barrier as a 3-ply laminate.
Roast Date
The roast date for coffee is an indicator of its freshness. It points to how long it has been sitting after it has been roasted. The coffee packaging should clearly mention the roast date. This will help the customers to buy only fresh coffee.
The coffee bags should also mention the best before date. The roast date and the best before date should be clear of any background noise for it to be clearly visible and legible for the customers.
Eco-Friendly and Sustainable Packaging
Considering the impact of plastics and non-degradable packaging on the environment, the coffee manufacturers are constantly endeavoring towards reducing their environmental footprints.
Considering this, the coffee bags should be eco-friendly. It should make use of raw materials which can be easily recycled. The coffee bag should aim towards reducing their use of plastic and other harmful and non-recyclable materials which affect the environment.
Using a recyclable packaging also creates a better image of the brand among the customers of being eco-friendly and can influence them in making their purchase decision.
Examples of Great Coffee Bag Designs
Some brands have come up with great ideas and innovation in designing their coffee bags. This has made a significant difference to the popularity and sales of their brand. Examples of some great coffee bag designs are as follows:
Target’s Archer Farm
Target’s Archer Farm coffee bags are illustrated with more than 50 pieces of unique art with each telling a story of where and how the coffee was grown.
The bags are not only very well-designed it also clearly provide the product name, flavors, and the key features of coffee to the customers.
This helps the customers to make their choices better as they will know if its director fair trade, how it has been roasted, and the different flavors.
The packaging is also completely recyclable which reduces the impact on the environment.
Coffee Inn
The Coffee Inn packaging makes use of beautiful ethnic patterns on the exterior for creating a direct reference to certain cultures. The end result is an original and authentic fusion of patterns.
These patterns are instantly noticeable to the customers which help the packaging stand out on the shelves. The font is also modern and elegant and the small dots on the packaging indicate the intensity of the roast.
The patterns on the Coffee Inn packaging shares the story of the origin of the beans and also provide a lively visible appearance. The coffee bag is made from completely recyclable materials which adds value to the customers and minimizes adverse impact on the environment.
Atomic Coffee
Atomic coffee has been synonymous with high quality of craftsmanship. Their packaging is nicely designed and appears like a small brick of coffee beans.
The use of metallic copper against a black background provides a touch of sophistication and luxury to the brand.
The brand name is printed in an informal and thick font in lower case which makes it stand out. The brand has different variants of coffee to offer to the customers and a white label on the front with sans serif font distinguishes the different coffee types.
The bottom of the packaging is also innovative and provides a little surprise- a dot pattern with fun and modern attitude.
92 Beans Coffee
The 92 Beans Coffee packaging bags have a white background with circles. These circles are an integral part of the packaging and explain one-shot coffee in the most simple manner.
The circles are of different colors- red symbolizes heat, black represents the coffee beans, and the white is for the creamy milk on the top. The three colors help to identify the different coffee variants- espresso grind, whole beans, and decaf.
The packaging is minimalistic and attractive which makes the product stand out from other similar coffee. The coffee bag is well-designed, simple, bold, and clean similar to the art of making high-quality and refined coffee.
Starbucks Tribute Blend
The packaging for the Starbucks Tribute Blend coffee provides a multi-layered and artistic feel. The different elements of the coffee origin and branding effectively come together in the beautifully designed black, white, and green bag.
The green circle is hand painted and the iconic Starbucks logo has not been used.
The design is modern but also simplistic at the same time. The design on the coffee back is subjective and different customers can perceive it differently. The packaging is also eco-friendly as it is completely recyclable.
Examples of Bad Coffee Bag Design
There are times when the coffee bag design does not work out and it may cost the brands dearly. Some of the examples of bad coffee bag designs are as follows:
Keurig Coffee
The Keurig Coffee’s K-cup works on the premise that the users pop a tiny plastic cup into the machine and with a push of a button, the coffee brews. The K-cups are single-serving coffee bags packaged using plastic materials which are non-recyclable.
These K-cups pose a grave threat to the environment as they cannot be recycled and mostly end up in landfills.
In the year 2016, it was estimated that more than 23 million households in the US had Keurig machines which use the K-cups for brewing coffee. The K-cups also do not provide the users with the rich experience of brewing and tasting the coffee.
Nescafe Gold
The packaging of Nescafe Gold- a popular brand from Nescafe- was not very inspiring. The packaging was bulky and it was not very protective of the coffee from the elements.
The company then went for a change in packaging design and introduced the new packaging with a brushed champagne gold lid and an overall sleek packaging.
The new packaging also helped to retain the freshness of the coffee longer. The brand also changed the recipe of its coffee by adding Arabica beans which were ten times more finely ground. These changes to the packaging and the recipe helped it regain its popularity among the customers.
Nespresso
Nespresso is a part of the Swiss multinational Nestle and sells coffee machines and single-serving coffee capsules. The coffee pods sold by Nespresso are made of aluminum and they create unnecessary waste.
Aluminum which is a valuable resource ends up being wasted in the landfills which are not good. Majority of the coffee pods are not recycled and the company does not share any data either on the recycling rates of its coffee pods.
The magnitude of waste can be understood from the fact that as of 2012, Nespresso sold more than 27 billion of its coffee pods around the world.
All right, you must have been trying sooo hard to read the whole article, take a rest and go drink a coffee, won’t you?
