Coffee Packaging Design: How To Stimulate Shelf Success.

With 64% of the US population consuming this beverage leader, the coffee category continues to grow and diversify itself time and time again. Brands leverage this massive category by creating coffee packaging design that expresses much more than the fact that it gives you energy.

We could easily give caffeine the credit for coffee’s success, but today, consumers have endless amounts of stimulant beverages to choose from. If you were to take somebody who’s never tried coffee or energy drinks and ask them which taste they prefer, undoubtedly, the energy drink will cast the most votes.

The success of coffee is more appropriately found within the stories it tells. Whether they know it, coffee lovers inherit the enjoyment of coffee from experiences. It may be the smell in the house they grew up in, or perhaps a reminder of their grandparents.

We stack story upon story with brilliant means of marketing. Brands use imagery of

• Farming families smile as they gaze upon their coffee fields.
• A cup of coffee slowly being poured with the perfect amount of rising steam.
• Mom’s sitting on the porch watching the sunrise with both hands on a warm cup.

There is much beauty in coffee branding, but we’ve now reached a point where brand identity requires more than following the footsteps of traditional marketing and packaging design. Now, a creative coffee packaging design needs to hone in on particular audiences the brand wants to capture.

A Great Example of How to Design Coffee Packaging

More than the target audience can appreciate the best coffee packaging designs. Sure, brands like Death Wish Coffee won’t appeal to everyone. But those of us in the package design industry understand the who, what, and why behind this design.

No where on the Death Wish Coffee bag indicates freshly roasted coffee but consumer expectations from niche coffee companies, assumes that every small batch coffee roaster uses fresh beans.

Death Wish may have one of the most hardcore coffee brand logos but the company’s story is enough to capture the essence of delicious coffee beans roasted to perfection.

Luxury Coffee Packaging Design

Do you love coffee enough to spend $130 on a 35 gram bag of coffee? If this isn’t proof that luxury coffee is real, then I don’t know what is. But a retail price 100 times above the average isn’t necessary for products to assume a position of being identified as one of the luxurious coffee brands.

Some might assume that smaller coffee bags deter consumers from choosing a product. However, industry reports suggest that 350 grams (12 oz or approximately 3/4 of a pound) is an ideal purchase size for most consumers.

This differs from years past where consumers would buy in bulk. Then again, specialty coffee was a laughable term, with most people thinking that coffee is the same across the board.

Sustainable Coffee Packaging Design

The coffee industry was an early adopter to sustainability in packaging design, with many brands stating “eco friendly coffee packaging” on the front of the label.

Please listen: If your brand is leaning on a sustainable packaging design as the lead purchase driver for your product, we challenge you to test this thinking. This may not be a strong enough differentiation factor to separate yourself from the competition. Many coffee products use this as sales copy to attract the environmentally friendly coffee drinker.

Tip: If your sustainable practices go beyond the industry standard, consider adding a QR code to your product packaging. Lead interested consumers to short videos explaining your efforts to protect the environment.

Modern Coffee Packaging Design

The term modern is a misnomer since we could consider brand examples, such as Death Wish and Stumptown, to be modern coffee designs. However, there are certain elements to any premium packaging design that give off a modern feel.

One trend is the use of matte finish with occasional foil fonts. These designs suggest casual, with a bit of flair. The products show earthy but with enough shine to bring about the “cool factor.”

Minimalist Coffee Packaging Design

The hipster coffee movement has led many coffee brands to embrace a minimalist look. While they do not go as far as the no logo movement, a simple stamp with the company logo is the only brand identity a package receives. Going to this extreme is only effective if you follow a direct to consumer business model. 

However, minimalist packaging design doesn’t have to be extreme. Your packaging can evoke a sense of calm that matches an experience the customer imagines and hopes to feel when sipping a cup of coffee. Minimal branding on your packaging includes words and a color scheme that mirrors the feeling someone gets while sipping coffee while overlooking the landscape from their deck.

Executed correctly, this is a great way to attract seekers of a simple life.

Coffee Packaging Types

In the coffee category, we find three common packaging types. We are not suggesting you need to stay within category expectations, but it’s good to know the packaging solution options available to you.

This way, you have a starting point for building a better marketing mousetrap with your custom design. Let’s look at those three now.

Coffee Bag Packaging

What started as a small coffee roaster saving costs by putting their beans in small brown bags has led to an industry revolution. The flat bottom coffee bag (otherwise known as a quad seal pouch) owns the largest market share within this category. Companies big and small use quad seal bags to give the appearance that the coffee is as fresh as possible.

The primary adversary to flexible packaging is Starbucks, which continues to use a shrink-wrapped block bottom coffee bag. The benefit to this type of packaging is how you can feel the beans through the packaging bringing touch into the package experience. 

Coffee Box Packaging Design

Like most food packaging designs, we can use cardboard boxes as secondary packaging for coffee products. These are the go to for K-Cups, instant coffee, and pouch coffee products. The box offers the most marketing utility with six flat surfaces, but it comes at a cost.

Box coffee sounds about as enticing as box wine and, like this trend in alcohol packaging design, you must work harder to add “appeal” into your product. Of course, this doesn’t matter if your target market is the “I couldn’t care less” crowd. FYI, this is not a very profitable customer audience.

However, as you will learn later in this article, sometimes the customer expects secondary packaging because there is no other way. If this is the case, embrace it and use all components of the box to max out your message to the coffee drinker. 

Coffee Can Packaging Design

The coffee can is a cost saving solution for major brands since it’s the most fit for a coffee label. Brands buy the cans in bulk and then create a custom coffee label for every variety of coffee they offer. The durability of these cans also keeps the coffee beans safe from damage and prevents tearing the package.

But when you think of coffee in a can, what do you think of? I’d bet you think of brands from the 1980s offering bulk quantities of ground coffee. Does that match what today’s customer is looking for?

One brand example is GroundWorks coffee, which makes some of the best stuff out there. However, when you look at their line at Whole Foods, there is a consistent trend. The 1lb coffee can versions of their product are frequently on-sale, which is a sign of shelf stagnation. 

Coffee in Plastic Containers

We do not have a lot of good things to say about putting your coffee in a plastic container. There may be an upside to recycled packaging, but please test, iterate, and test this belief again to ensure this recycled plastic leads to greater repeat purchases. Today’s coffee drinker just doesn’t resonate with coffee brands from the 1990s.

Packaging Design For Unique Coffee Products

With coffee being one of the most widely sold products, coffee product variations of all types exist across this category. If your brand offers a unique coffee product sold in specific locations, then this example is for you.

Recreational Equipment Incorporated (REI) offers products for the outdoor lifestyle. They carry everything from hiking shoes to canoes, products for summer and snow. They also offer food and drink items to those who intentionally distance themselves from convenient shopping and restaurants.

While it may sound hardcore to drink cowboy coffee like they did in the 1800s, today’s adventurists are looking for simpler solutions that meet their natural desires.

Kuju coffee solves this problem with their Basecamp blend coffee. For a delicious cup of coffee that pairs nicely with nature, all you need is a cup and hot water. Using elements of the outdoors on their coffee box packaging design, they have enough space to showcase the simplicity of use that the hanging coffee pouch offers.

If you have a unique coffee product, you may need to follow this same formula. Recognize that your product demands an element of education for it to hit home with the target audience. While your product may fit into a small package, there needs to be enough room for just the right amount of marketing.

Packaging Design Agency

Want a best selling coffee brand? SmashBrand is a packaging design agency that works with innovative companies like yourself to develop product packaging that performs on the shelf. Our extensive testing process provides shelf predictability for your coffee packaging that gives your brand more confidence when approaching retailers.

Book a time to discuss your project with our team.