Why coffee quality decides whether new brands last
Packaging design draws the first click, but repeat business rests on coffee quality, a sustainable philosophy and a genuine brand story. As specialty coffee consumption grows in markets such as China and India, and more beans are bought online, shelves fill with similar "freshly roasted" claims that buyers cannot verify from photos alone.
A report from the National Coffee Association and the Specialty Coffee Association points to fast growth in specialty coffee, with online buying rising as cafe visits slowed. For established names, design matters less; for a new brand, material choice and packaging style are the entry point, while consistent cup quality keeps customers returning.
Specialty coffee consumption continues to heat up globally, with particularly rapid growth in emerging markets such as China and India. Buying coffee beans online has become a new trend, new brands keep emerging, and market competition is becoming increasingly fierce. Faced with coffee beans on the shelves all labeled "freshly roasted," consumers often find it hard to judge quality from pictures, making packaging design one of the key factors influencing their choices. However, packaging is only the first step in attracting new customers. What truly determines whether a brand can develop over the long term is a sustainable philosophy, an authentic brand story, and consistently excellent coffee quality. This article will take an in-depth look at material choices for coffee bean packaging, the evolution of design styles, and the importance of brand authenticity, offering ideas that new brands can draw on.
A report recently jointly released by the National Coffee Association (NCA) and the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) points out that global specialty coffee consumption is showing rapid growth, especially in countries with faster economic growth such as India and China, where specialty coffee market expansion is particularly pronounced.
Although the number of specialty coffee shops continues to increase, pandemic prevention policies in various places have affected consumers' travel and consumption habits. Coffee consumption has gradually shifted from offline to online, and more and more coffee lovers have begun to buy coffee beans through the internet and learn to make a cup of coffee at home that satisfies them.
Many specialty coffee brands have been laying out online channels to sell their own freshly roasted coffee beans. The specialty coffee market is becoming saturated, and competition among brands is growing increasingly fierce. At the same time, many specialty coffee brands uphold similar values, and their packaging design styles are largely the same, which makes it very difficult for new brands to stand out among numerous products and attract consumers' attention.
Some may think that as long as the coffee beans are of solid quality and freshly roasted, packaging design is not important. For established brands that already have a certain reputation and good word of mouth, design is indeed not the most critical factor; but for a new brand, if it wants customers to be willing to give it a try, packaging design is one of the important factors in attracting consumers' attention.
Faced with a dazzling array of coffee bean recommendations that all claim to be freshly roasted, 95% of people cannot tell the quality of coffee beans from pictures alone, so many consumers start by choosing based on packaging design.
Before designing coffee bean packaging, the first thing to consider is the material and functionality of the packaging. For today's coffee consumers, freshness and aroma matter more when buying coffee. If an unsuitable packaging bag is chosen, it will shorten the coffee's freshness period and peak flavor period.
At present, the most common coffee bean packaging on the market mainly comes in two types: one is a combination of polypropylene film BOPP + polyester resin PET + polyethylene PE; the other is a combination of monoaxially oriented polypropylene film MOPP/kraft paper + aluminum-coated polyester film VMPET + polyethylene PE.
The two may seem not very different, but in fact the former has better barrier properties and sealing performance and is more suitable for packaging pre-ground coffee powder; the latter has better light-blocking properties and ductility and is more suitable for packaging whole coffee beans.
No matter which material is used, selling freshly roasted coffee beans requires packaging bags with one-way degassing valves. Freshly roasted coffee beans, regardless of roast level, will continue to release carbon dioxide after roasting is completed. If there is no valve that only lets gas out and not in to release the gas inside the bag, the internal pressure of the packaging will become too high, thereby reducing its seal.
For selling pre-ground coffee powder, however, packaging bags without one-way degassing valves should be used, or the vent hole of the degassing valve should be sealed well. This is because after coffee beans are ground, the cut surface increases, and both carbon dioxide and coffee flavor are lost more quickly.
As mentioned earlier, the factors that drive consumers to buy a coffee bean are, first, reputation, and second, packaging. In the past few years, coffee packaging placed great emphasis on personalized customization, and every brand had unique and distinctive characteristics, such as irregular packaging and bright color combinations with bold typography. However, starting two years ago, coffee packaging design gradually returned to a minimalist style, with more emphasis on cost, practicality, and sustainability.
Why has coffee packaging once again returned to a minimalist style? A study by the Department of Management at Islamic Azad University concluded that when consumers buy products, they find packaging information more important than graphics. Before specialty coffee culture became widely popular, consumers did not pay much attention to information about the coffee itself or its flavor, so as long as the packaging design was unique enough and the colors were bright and striking enough, it could attract consumers' attention and choice.
But now consumers have a deeper understanding of specialty coffee, and driven by environmental awareness, they pay more attention to information such as packaging materials, freshly roasted coffee beans, handmade production (meaning not machine-based mass production), and the origin flavors of coffee beans. Therefore, more brands have returned to using kraft paper packaging to create a more rustic, handmade feel.
At the same time, speed and convenience are key to consumers' product choices. Therefore, packaging design will not use overly complex color combinations and patterns. It usually uses bright but not overly saturated colors to distinguish each coffee bean, and highlights important information about the coffee beans through text arrangement.
A 2021 opinion poll showed that most consumers today, when they see packaging with overly bright colors, overly complex pattern designs, and coffee bean information that cannot be obtained at first glance, usually will not make it their first choice. The reason is that many products that focus too much on color and pattern design are often only average in quality. Unclear information also makes consumers spend more time and effort understanding the coffee beans.
The Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCA) once said: packaging is a useful tool for presenting information to customers, and packaging information is one of the three most effective ways to guide consumers in understanding specialty coffee. At present, more and more people understand how coffee origin and processing methods bring unique flavors to coffee beans, and more and more people have begun to understand the environment and characteristics of various coffee-producing regions. Therefore, future packaging trends may incorporate more patterns, lines, and colors unique to different regions and ethnic groups.
Many coffee brands now have increasingly simple and similar designs. Besides the fact that more consumers value clear and easy-to-understand product information, another reason is that overly complex packaging design costs more, and these costs are ultimately reflected in the price of the coffee.
Today the quality of coffee beans from various coffee origins is getting better and better, and the sources of coffee beans for many brands are also largely similar. The difference lies in each brand's story and the different interpretations that roasters give to the coffee beans. Consumers are willing to pay a higher price for a bag of coffee beans out of trust in the brand or a particular fondness for a certain coffee bean. If it is just ordinary coffee beans but requires a higher price because of packaging design, most consumers, I believe, would be unwilling to pay it.
In today's highly competitive specialty coffee industry, where packaging styles are similar, is there still a chance to join in and gain consumer recognition? There are certainly opportunities, but there are not many shortcuts. To do this, we need to focus on the brand's sustainable development and authenticity.
As an agricultural product, coffee is closely tied to nature, so consumers are more inclined to buy products that meet ethical and environmental requirements. An anonymous specialty coffee brand marketing expert emphasized that sustainability has become one of the greatest necessities in specialty coffee marketing. Rather than spending a great deal of thought and money on packaging, it is better to tell more farmers' stories when selling coffee, allowing coffee consumers to connect with coffee growers and giving consumers a sense of participation.
This feeling is like how in the past, when people drank coffee, everyone simply needed caffeine to wake up or liked the taste of coffee. But now when people drink coffee, everyone hopes that the money they spend can help coffee-producing regions continuously improve the environment and technology of their farms and processing stations, produce coffee beans of better quality, and allow them to drink coffee with better flavor.
A public opinion survey in Japan shows that consumers aged 18 to 30 are more willing to pay higher prices for sustainable and environmentally friendly products. This also means that if a brand cannot provide more information about the sustainable development of its coffee beans, even the best-looking packaging will not attract more repeat purchases.
In addition to packaging and stories, brand authenticity is also particularly critical. Brand authenticity is generally divided into four categories: continuity, credibility, integrity, and symbolism. This means consumers want to see that a brand can consistently and honestly demonstrate its commitment to social, environmental, and ethical practices. The public cannot clearly feel the quality of coffee beans from packaging appearance and information alone, but they can feel how the brand differs from other brands in the same field.
Therefore, packaging design is only a way to quickly catch the eye and have a chance to gain new customers, but it is only the beginning. A continuous stream of repeat purchases is the key factor in a brand's lasting development. Only authentic, moving stories and long-term, stable coffee bean quality can truly win consumers' hearts.
Image source: Internet
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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
