6 Important Tips When Selecting Coffee Packaging

Choosing the best coffee packaging is more than just an attractive design. Keep this in mind.

Your packaging keeps your coffee fresh for a longer period, which means that it has a direct impact on the taste of the beans you’re selling. It’s also what you work with every day. This is also what your consumers will picture when they hear your brand. The packaging is an important part of a product, and this is why we have custom packaging now.

Note that there isn’t one right type of packaging – it all depends on different factors, like the scale of your business, what your consumers like, and your filling processes. So, how do you select the right coffee packaging?

Six important factors to consider when choosing coffee packaging

Below are six critical factors that you should consider when it comes to selecting your consumer packaging. If you consider these, you’ll be sure to choose the best coffee packaging for your business. 

Pouch Types

There are different mylar pouch types, but you should consider airtight, stand-up options. Below are the four common pouch types:

• Doypack – This is common and the most convenient type of packaging. All the features below give consumers the impression that what they buy is worth their money.

Features:

Round at the bottom, flat at the top

Its preformed foot allows it to stand up, regardless of the filling and weigh.

It has a zipper for reclosing

• Side fold bag – This is a more traditional packaging style.

Features:

The side fold bag is easy to use and cost-efficient

The straight lines give it a minimalistic look

The bag doesn’t stand up well but it will feel solid feel when you hold it

You can close it by rolling up or by folding over the top, and then using a label or tine tie after sealing

• Quadro seal bag – This is similar to a side fold bag, but all four corners are sealed.

Features:

It has a square look

It also makes it possible to integrate a zipper.

• Box pouch/Flat bottom bag – The box pouch bears resemblance to the Quadro seal bag. The difference is that it has a flat bottom.

Features:

Its square style makes it look like a box

It has a perfect stand-up quality

It allows you to integrate zippers

Barrier properties

Coffee beans should stay fresh, which means that your packaging needs to be airtight. You can easily tell by the presence of a degassing valve, which lets CO2 out of the bag after the coffee beans are roasted. This feature is particularly important in degassing valve coffee bags, ensuring optimal freshness by allowing gases to escape without compromising the seal integrity.

Your packaging will need a barrier, too. Coffee is sensitive to external influences, and this will keep oxygen and other factors out, as they might affect the profile of the coffee beans. Most stand-up coffee pouches come with a pure aluminum barrier as a 3-ply laminate. However, these aluminum barriers aren’t environment-friendly.

Another option would be a 2-ply laminate with a high-barrier polyester. Made from 100% plastic, this will keep the coffee beans fresh.

To keep UV out of the package, you can get a black or white-based polyester or dense artwork printing. But if we’re talking about specialty coffee, see-through bags aren’t a problem since they can be consumed within 6 months.

The filling process

A lot of people go for manual or semi-automatic filling process, which means that bag design can help speed up or slow down the process.

If your bag comes with a zipper to reclose it, then there’s a chance that the bag will have two corners on the top, just like with a doypack. If the bag doesn’t come with a zipper, it’s more likely that the bag will have four corners on the top, just like with a side fold bag. Filling it is called an open-mouth execution. The opening of a side fold bag is larger, and therefore, it’s easier to fill manually or semi-automatically.

If you opt for a doypack, but you manually fill your bags, make sure the opening is wide enough so it can fit your scoop or your weigher funnel in. Also, check that the bag opens up easily, either as a result of the weight of the bans or you inserting your hand.

If you want to buy a packaging machine for automatic filling, make sure you know the type of packaging the machine can handle. Luckily for you, most machines can handle both types.

Re-closability

Consumers who use the coffee beans straight from the package will surely love this feature. Although the packaging will lose its airtight qualities once it’s opened, the ability to re-close it will make a definite difference to the freshness of the beans. Make sure to inform the consumers to push all air out of the bag before they close it, to leave a minimal amount of oxygen inside.

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get a bag without a zipper, though. This type of packaging is best for one-use products, which means that bags without zippers will be best for retail bags. When you choose a zipper pouch, make sure to go for a consumer-friendly pouch.

Style

Every company must have its style to distinguish itself from the other companies. One of the easiest ways to do that is through the packaging. There are many ways to make unique bags that can draw attention. Attractive artwork is one of the common ways to establish your style. Another way is to use different metallic or neon colors, valves, an integrated zipper, shaped pouches, etc. You can also focus on consumer-friendliness, for example, by using laser perforation, to make it easier for consumers to open the bag. Be creative; the possibilities are infinite.

Labels

The specialty coffee industry loves labels. And since you might deal with different origins, you’ll need to get a good label to communicate the origins, roast date, processing method, and more of your coffee beans. Don’t rush the design.

You can try to match the material of your label with the bag itself. If you want to draw attention to the label, you can use a stock pouch. 

You can also print your labels, since it’s cheaper, and it gives you more flexibility. Make sure to have a good printer and create a template in your style, which you can easily change the details of.

Also consider the different font styles and colors, as they will have a bigger impact on customers than plan texts.