8 Coffee Packaging Design Tips | Tell Your Brand’s Story
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Beautiful coffee packaging is a work of art.
However, not every brand succeeds with its packaging. Coffee packaging is incredibly varied, and it only requires a visit to a local supermarket to find many examples of both bad and good designs. Packaging can make or break a brand — it is essential in generating a positive first impression, and it can help growing companies stand out in a competitive market.
Why Coffee Packaging Matters
Coffee packaging is the most powerful tool for marketing your product and company — it is far too important to be an afterthought. The best designs are both functional and eye-catching, keeping your coffee safe during shipment and attracting the eye of new customers.
Here are three ways that high-quality coffee packaging benefits your product:
1. Packaging Protects Your Coffee
The best coffee packaging isn’t just visually appealing — it is also functional.
Above everything else, good packaging should protect your coffee, whether it’s ground, flavored, or whole bean. When you are designing your packaging, look for materials and styles that will keep your product safe during shipping and storage, something that will hold up through consumer handling and use.
Whether you choose cutting-edge or traditional materials, good packaging keeps your coffee fresh and protected from the moment it leaves the warehouse.
2. Packaging Promotes Your Brand
The designs and details of your packaging promote your brand along with your coffee.
When designing packaging, you have the option of making your company brand bold and visible — you might choose to have the branding be front and center in the design, or you may prefer it in a more subtle location. Highlight the most interesting parts of your company on your packaging, such as where the beans were harvested, any of your brand’s eco-friendly efforts, and the distinct flavor profile of your blends.
Use your packaging to promote the values and story of your brand — customers will be drawn to your product, and they will recognize your brand and be more inclined to purchase your coffee in the future.
3. Packaging Sells Your Product
Good packaging sets your coffee apart from the rest. It attracts a customer’s attention, drawing them to your product instead of competitors.
While we would like to believe that we’re above judging something by its appearance, we make most of our judgments about a product based on its design. Studies suggest that humans make up their minds subconsciously up to seven seconds before they consciously feel they are making a decision. It only takes a few moments for a consumer to decide whether or not they want to engage with your product, and packaging plays a significant role in the choice.
In a retail setting, the packaging of your coffee is its first impression. When you are in the process of growing your brand, achieving a positive first impression is critical — while your packaging may not affect the quality of your coffee, most consumers are guided by aesthetics. If they weren’t specifically searching for your coffee, they would most likely pick the most visually appealing or interesting brand.
Good coffee packaging keeps your product safe, promotes your brand, and attracts new customers — it is one of the most powerful tools in marketing your coffee to new customers.
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Tell Your Brand’s Story through Unique Coffee Packaging
In addition to aesthetic and functional appeal, creative packaging tells the story of your brand and your coffee. A consumer will often purchase coffee without an experienced coffee producer to guide them through the various flavor and roast profiles. Instead, the coffee’s packaging must inform customers all they need to know — not just about the product, but about the brand’s values as well.
1. Where the Coffee Comes From
Consumers want to invest in products with a story. Make your products stand out by integrating a human element in your packaging.
For example, you could include the origin point of the beans on the packaging, such as a floral blend from Ethiopia or a vanilla-forward coffee from Colombia. If you work with a small, fair-trade coffee plantation, provide information about the farmers and their mission. This makes your brand look like more than a coffee producer — including human stories on your packaging sends the message that your company is interested in people and quality, not just profit.
As society increasingly moves in a more eco-friendly and sustainable direction, consumers are also aware of a product’s environmental impact. If your brand takes steps to mitigate your footprint, tell customers about it with your packaging. Make sure any certifications are clearly displayed, such as “organic” or “fair trade.”
2. How to Best Enjoy the Coffee
The complexity and depth of coffee flavors go beyond its roast.
Help your customers understand the differences between each blend — add descriptive text to your packaging and detail the variety of flavors hiding in each bag. Describe the distinctions between different roasts, and consider adding some brewing suggestions on the back.
These helpful descriptions or guides don’t have to be formatted as blocks of text — get creative with your design. Instead of writing out the best way to brew a cup of your coffee, you could use clean graphics like tablespoons and water droplets. Simple, minimalist graphics can convey the necessary information without creating visual clutter on the packaging.
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How to Create a Coffee Packaging Design That Sells
The right packaging is essential to building a thriving coffee brand. When you begin designing your logo and labels, the most important factor is to come up with something original that embodies the spirit of your brand. However, with all the different companies and brands filling store shelves, coming up with a winning design can be overwhelming.
To help you begin, we’ve gathered eight of the best ways to make your coffee packaging sensational.
1. Emphasize Color
The human eye is drawn to color. To create coffee packaging that stands out from the competition, emphasize color in your design.
You can use color psychology to build a label that catches the eye — green is often associated with health and nature, while gold conveys elegant and regal elements. You could combine many colors in a bright, vibrant design, perhaps imitating the tones of a tropical rainforest.
However, you don’t have to use vivid colors in your packaging to make your product eye-catching. Sometimes, minimalist colors and designs are just as stunning as vibrant labels, and they can convey that your brand is chic, cool and modern.
Experiment with a few different color designs. To make your packaging one-of-a-kind, you could try unusual colors like spring green or blush pink. Alternately, you could embrace a subdued color scheme of soft grays or browns. A successful color scheme stands out from the crowd and reflects the message and tone of your brand.
2. Use Motion
To create unique and appealing packaging, use graphics that move.
According to a 2015 study, food and beverage brands that use images featuring action and motion on their labels perform better than companies using still graphics. Consumers tend to perceive “moving” labels as more exciting and fresher than others, which means that they are more likely to select motion-forward packaging on a store shelf.
If you want to include an illustration or photograph on your packaging, consider an image of your coffee being poured into a waiting mug or beans spilling into cupped hands. The movement will create a sensory experience for the viewer, drawing them to your product and prompting them to read more.
3. Try Creative Typography
The typography on your packaging goes far towards determining its success.
Creative and distinctive lettering is one of the most powerful design elements in packaging and branding. For example, many large corporations only use type for their logos, which illustrates the power of good typography.
Try keeping the lettering of your brand and your coffee packaging consistent and complementary. If your company uses streamlined typography for your branding, keep the tone consistent on your coffee packaging — you could experiment with slightly different sizes and styles, but overall consistency will make your brand more cohesive.
Done well, contrasting typography is also effective. If your brand typically uses lettering that is minimalist and understated, you could let your coffee label feature bold, vintage-inspired typography for added drama and emphasis. However, be careful when using many different styles of lettering on packaging — too many will make the label look cluttered and unappealing.
4. Be Descriptive
Good packaging can tell the story of your brand and your coffee. To create informative and attractive labels, don’t be afraid to be descriptive.
Think about any fun facts that a consumer might find interesting. Include relevant information about the source of your coffee and the way that it has been processed, along with any tips or guides on brewing the perfect cup of coffee. Provide a list of flavors that a consumer could expect to experience if drinking your coffee, such as hints of fruit or chocolate undertones.
The key to high-quality descriptive packaging is not to overcrowd your label — use text blocks and creative typography to break up large sections of text, and use stylized graphics when possible to simplify your message.
5. Show Off
If your company has any special certifications or awards, show them off on your packaging.
Environmentally aware consumers look for certifications such as Fair Trade USA or USDA Organic on their coffee. Other organizations that lend their seals of approval to eco-friendly coffee include the Rainforest Alliance and the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center. Make sure your product is properly certified by the certifying agency prior to showing off on your packaging – this process must be completed by your supplier on your
If your brand doesn’t have any notable certifications or awards, you can still show off on your label. Highlight your brand’s values, like supply chain transparency or pesticide-free farming. If your company is dedicated to high-quality products, tell that to the consumer — it will go a long way to increasing trust in your product.
6. Add Graphics
Creative and beautiful art is a quick way to grab a consumer’s attention.
When you are designing your packaging, pay special attention to your graphics or illustrations. The right graphics can make or break the success of your packaging — if your label looks dated, awkward or poorly designed, most consumers will move on to a more appealing product.
Graphics are a kind of communication between your brand and your customers — they generate an emotional response in the consumer.
Just like color, different designs and shapes create a psychological reaction in consumers. Botanical graphics could convey feelings of peace and nature, while geometric designs might create a sense of purposefulness and balance. If you choose to include realistic illustrations of humans or animals on your packaging, you could create a deeper sense of connection between the viewer and your product.
7. Consider Your Tone
As you design your packaging, keep the tone of your brand in mind.
The designs, colors, and styles of your packaging will send a message about your company. The key is to keep this message consistent with your brand’s story — are you trying to create an old-school feeling with the historic origins of coffee, or do you prefer the hip, downtown vibes of a big-city coffee shop?
Your brand’s tone should influence many of your packaging decisions, from color choice to finishing materials. For example, a gold and black color scheme will work well with modern, luxurious branding, while vintage blues and classic lettering might invoke the early 1900s. The finishing material will also change the tone of the packaging — while a matte finish could feel modern and natural, a gloss coating might be connected with sophistication.
8. Feature Your Brand
A company’s brand includes the rational, emotional, visual, and cultural images and experiences that consumers associate with a business or product. We quickly associate certain images, slogans, colors, or even smells with specific brands.
As you are developing your company, it’s essential to include your brand on your packaging. If you prefer the coffee to speak for itself, you don’t have to put your brand in the center of the label — you could place it high or low on the packaging, or keep it to the side of the main label.
Keep your brand design and location consistent across your different coffee products — the consistency will help develop consumer awareness and familiarity with your company, and will help them recognize your different products on store shelves.
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Choose Joe’s Garage Coffee as Your Private Packaging Partner
Creating the right packaging is vital for your brand’s success. The next step is choosing a packaging partner that you can trust.
At Joe’s Garage Coffee, we are dedicated to establishing long-term relationships with our clients and producing the highest-quality packaging and products. Our customized packaging services allow your company to promote your brand’s story with creative, innovative packaging.
The team of quality assurance experts at Joe’s Garage Coffee will package your coffee according to your exact requirements, whether you need pods for Nespresso, cups for Keurig, compostable pods for Keurig, one-cup filter pods, cold brew pitcher packs, or traditional portion packs and bags. We use the latest technology, and our packaging features high-oxygen barriers to protect your coffee’s freshness.
In addition to co-packaging, we offer a wide range of services including roast-to-order, toll-roasting and coffee lab services. Some of the benefits that set us apart include:
- Consistent and superior-quality products
- Fast turns
- Small minimums
- Scalable capacity
- Specialty-grade coffee
Don’t settle for subpar packaging. Contact Joe’s Garage Coffee to learn more about creative and innovative packaging today.
