Coffee brands can create as many aromatic and flavorful coffees as they want but if the coffee packaging isn’t appealing enough, the brand sales will stay at stake. Customising the coffee packaging design can be a game changer, however many coffee brands still just treat it as a formality. Packaging sets the stage for your product, brands need to ensure it’s memorable. When you have a smart and strategic packaging, it communicates a brand message.
This blog will walk you through all the impactful strategies for designing the coffee packaging efficiently, be it choosing the right material or the bold finishes.
Role Of First Impressions In Coffee Packaging
If you ever happen to visit a grocery store or coffee isle, you must have realised coffee packaging has a great influence on the buying decision of shoppers.
Let’s assume for a moment, you go to a retail store to buy coffee. There are two packages of coffee with the same origin and price but different brands. Which one would you be inclined to choose? Of course, the one with a more visually appealing presence. That’s the ability of a well designed and well thought coffee packaging design.
All coffee brands must design their coffee packaging keeping in consideration following points:
Reflects high quality
Visually aesthetic design
Communicates brand story and personality through design, color, and texture
Sets the right expectations for the coffee stored inside
One-way degassing valve to prevent oxygen entrance and trapping of CO2
Role Of Coffee Packaging In Creating Trust Among Customers
It's human nature to judge a product by its packaging, if we haven’t experienced that product before. It’s also a common assumption that if so much thought and effort has been put into organizing the packaging, the product will also be worth it.
It can’t be denied that luxury packaging enhances the perceived value of the coffee. For instance, customers will pay double the amount of normal coffee for hot stamp coffee bags.
Basic Fundamentals Which Contributes To A Powerful Design For Coffee Packaging
A powerful design doesn’t just have to be visually pleasing and pretty. Rather, it should balance both functionality and aesthetics. A coffee packaging has a major role to fill in as it represents the brand image, preserves the coffee and communicates necessary product information simultaneously.
Choose The Right Style For The Packaging Bag
The shape and style of the bag also reflects the brand personality and vibe. It is also fundamental in protecting the coffee. There are different types of coffee bags with their own unique properties. Some of them have been listed below:
Stand Up Coffee Pouches: These pouches are mostly used for 12oz and 1lb bags and can be useful in enhancing the shelf impact and storage of the coffee for long-use.
Block Bottom Coffee Bags: Also widely known as Flat Bottom Coffee bags have a rectangular base which provides great support to the bag in standing upright. They offer ample branding space with 5 panels.
Quad Seal Coffee Bags: Adds a modern and premium look to coffee packaging with squared sides. It maintains a sturdy structure and is perfect for high-end or specialty coffee bags.
Side Gusset Coffee Bags: Most frequently used coffee bag with expandable and flexible space. It is suitable for wholesale, bulk and high-volume coffee packaging.
Pillow Coffee Pouches: These are lightweight, space saving and cost-effective coffee pouches most commonly used for single-serving or small batches coffee packaging.
Are you wondering which one you should choose? Honestly, it depends upon the weight of coffee, target audience and sales channel. But don’t panic, your partner packaging company like Titan Boxes can help you with selecting the right coffee bag which leads to brand growth and coffee sales.
Selecting The Right Colors, Fonts And Visual Identity For Outer Coffee Packaging
The color palette and fonts play a great role in determining the personality of the coffee brand. For example, customers associate colors like black, dark grey, and murky colors with premium and luxury. Earthy tones and bright colors are often associated with natural and organic products. Pastel colors hint light and playfulness.
Before designing the coffee packaging , keep these key factors in mind:
Don’t use more than two or three different fonts.
Ensure that name can be read easily at least from 2-3 ft distance
Do not complicate the design by stuffing it entirely with text.
Design should have a hierarchy of information. Most essential information is brand name, then the coffee name and then origin, flavor notes or roasting level.
Remember, a strong and aesthetically pleasing coffee packaging design is clear, coherent and minimalist.
Suitable Materials For Custom Coffee Packaging
The kind of material you choose for coffee bags decides the shelf life, sustainability, cost and customer perception of the product. In order to preserve the taste and aroma of flavorful coffee, packaging must protect it from moisture, sunlight, oxygen etc. The perfect coffee packaging serves all these functions with a captivating visual presence. This is why material choice is so crucial in the process of designing coffee packaging.
Kraft Paper Coffee Bags
Kraft coffee packaging is used by artisan, farmer’s market, local and eco-conscious coffee brands. It has a tactile and organic appeal which is so attractive to modern coffee consumers. It creates beautiful prints and also delivers epic product visuals in pictures. Hence, this can be ideal for both retail environments and e-commerce coffee packaging.
However, it is important to note that in order to retain freshness and flavor, it is strongly advised to use Kraft Coffee bags with an inner lining.
Coffee Bags With Foil-Linings
Foil-lined bags are the gold standard coffee packaging bags as they act as a better barrier against oxygen, light, humidity, heat etc than paper. Aluminium foil lamination are most popular being utilised for:
Subscription Coffee Boxes
Coffee with longer shelf life
Large scale commercial coffee packaging
A major con of foil-lined coffee bags is that they aren’t easily biodegradable. This can be a major concern for brands focused on sustainability and environmental-friendliness. But brands who have coffee freshness as their packaging first priority, it can be the suitable option.
Printing Methods For Coffee Packaging
Coffee brands can create amazing coffee bag designs conceptually but if the printing result doesn’t replicate the envisioned design, it’s all in vain. This is where we have witnessed many brands being blindsided. Two major printing techniques are used in custom coffee packaging:
Digital Printing
This type of printing method has a low minimum order of quantity which means that it can be used for smaller batches, limited editions and seasonal designs. It is more affordable for low volume orders as compared to high-volume orders. It has remarkable and outstanding color accuracy including pictures and gradients.
Flexographic Printing
Flexographic printing is usually recommended for higher volume orders, bulk and wholesale orders. That’s why, unlike digital printing it is expensive for lower volume orders and cost effective for mass batches. The results for this printing technique are also amazing but can be a slight variation with gradients.
Finishes To Add Luxury And Dominance Into Coffee Packaging
Sometimes small details can make major differences. It stands true in the case of finishes, which can transform any basic coffee packaging into a luxury and extraordinary one. Some of the widely used finishing and lamination options include:
Matte Lamination: It’s a smooth, premium and non-reflective finish. Popular in speciality and premium coffees.
Gloss Lamination: It’s more of a glossy, vibrant and shiny finish. Mostly used to create bold looks in coffee packaging.
Spot UV: In this method, gloss is added over specific and certain parts of the design to highlight them such as brand logo, name, artwork etc.
Embossing or Debossing: It creates raised or engraved texture which adds elegance and prominence into the coffee packaging bag.
Soft Touch Coating: It has a very velvety and tactile feel which gives the feeling of luxury and high-end.
Foil Stamping: It adds metallic or pigmented foils onto the coffee packaging bag which delivers a classic yet premium look.
How Can You Partner With Titan Boxes To Design Coffee Packaging
If you’re a new coffee brand and have no idea how to start designing coffee packaging, don’t worry. You don’t need to have everything figured out, all at once. Titan Boxes provides custom coffee packaging to all scales of brands be it newly starting coffee business or established coffee brands with their developed design files.
