The different ways to approach cold coffee packaging
An increasing number of coffee shops and cafés are offering cold brew as a standard menu item in an effort to reach new customers and keep regulars intrigued and coming back.
When it comes to the best approach to cold coffee packaging, factors like sustainability, brand and design, and convenience all contribute to better-performing products.
Alongside improvements in brewing technology and equipment across the board, better packaging materials and design capabilities help make cold brew a more popular, in-demand coffee choice.
We spoke to Tony Diehl, founder of Denim Coffee Co., a Pennsylvania-based flash chilling specialist, to learn more about the company’s approach to cold coffee.
What is flash chilled coffee, and why does Denim brew it?
Denim has been introducing the coffee drinkers of central Pennsylvania access to specialty-grade single-origins and blends since 2011. More recently, alongside a move to a shiny new roasting and bakery headquarters equipped with an IMF roaster, the company launched a new line of flash chilled coffee to satisfy the growing demand for colder drink options.
“Making excellent hot coffee and great iced espresso drinks has been achievable for quite a while,” says Tony.
“In contrast, cold coffee has been the wild west. Cold brew has been a good solution, but it does lack the acidity and aromatics we’ve been able to achieve in flash-chilling coffee. As such, we think flash chilling presents cold coffee at its best.”
“Cold coffee is on the rise, and that trend seems to be here to stay. We’re selling about 50% hot to cold drinks, and our emphasis has been making sure both are served with quality and consistency,” he adds.
Unlike cold brew, which is brewed with cold water, flash chilling uses heat during brewing before rapidly reducing the temperature immediately after extraction. The effect is a cold coffee that expresses more of the traditional flavour profile of a hot drink than cold brew, which tends to be more mellow, lighter, less acidic, and less bitter.
Because of the immediate chilling effect, the resulting drink does not go stale as quickly or develop the chalkiness that more traditional iced coffee products are known for. As far as cold coffee packaging goes, flash chilled coffee is well suited, maintaining a crisp, clean flavour and finish for longer periods.
“Matt (co-owner of Denim) set out on an 18-month journey to crack the code for flash chilling coffee at scale,” the press release goes on to say.
“In their new headquarters, a room was dedicated, and equipment was installed to brew hot coffee and chill it to 40 degrees in under 30 seconds. Once chilled, the coffee is kegged and purged with nitrogen to preserve its vibrancy and freshness for months.
“Denim Coffee currently offers their flash chilled coffee on draft and nitro at their coffee shops and supplies kegs and kegerators to its wholesale partners. Plans are in place to develop a canning line to unlock additional opportunities for this new flash chilled line of coffee.”
Denim’s foray into flash chilled coffee is motivated by an industry-wide phenomenon: the growing preference for cold coffee options. Just like cold brew and RTD coffee, modern consumers are seeking convenient, cold caffeine fixes in rapidly increasing numbers.
As Tony alludes, Denim is not just thinking about coffee shop menu innovation; it has its eye firmly on the lucrative and explosive RTD coffee segment, too, a space where flash chilled coffee looks set to perform well.
What are the different ways companies can approach cold coffee packaging?
Business-to-business or wholesale coffee products often require different packaging formats to direct-to-consumer retail, although there is often a crossover between the two types of clients. Rise Brewing, for example, now uses bag-in-box packaging solutions in place of bulkier, heavier kegs.
For now, Denim packages its flash chilled products in kegs – an extremely convenient option for its own cafés and its wholesale clients. These kegs can be easily hooked up to draught systems for easy pouring and serving in busy coffee shops, either straight up or nitro-infused for a creamier, richer beverage option.
“Our goal has always been to open ten retail coffee shops that we own and operate as well as expand our wholesale partnership,” says Tony.
“With the added space and the new IMF roaster, we are confident in our ability to pursue those goals and beyond.”
Clearly flash chilled coffee is a big part of Denim’s plans. Introducing intriguing and innovative cold coffee options is essential to the success of modern coffee businesses. Denim’s choice to invest in new roasting facilities to support its flash chilled development program is a sign the company is well in tune with current trends.
Moreover, the intention to introduce RTD product lines in the future will help Denim expand beyond the café setting, opening up the lucrative FMCG retail space. The global RTD coffee space is already valued at a whopping $22.44 billion and is set to reach almost $65 billion by 2032.
As Denim prepares to launch RTDs, it has several options for cold coffee packaging. Thus far, glass bottles and aluminium cans have been the favourite choice for most of the coffee industry.
Aluminium is one of the most widely recycled packaging types in the world, thanks primarily to consumer education and access to recycling programs that accept the metal. Glass bottles enjoy the same benefits.
However, there are more options for cold coffee packaging, ones that are even more sustainable and potentially more well-received by environmentally conscious consumers.
Bag-in-box packaging, for example, is 100% recyclable, compostable, and biodegradable. Its two main components, a kraft paper and corrugated cardboard protective outer casing and an internal LDPE and PLA plastic bladder, can be easily separated and processed sustainably.
Flexible cold brew pouches are another sustainable, compostable option, available in different sizes, from small single-serve individual sachets to larger, three-litre multi-serve bags.
To source your own line of cold coffee packaging, visit our website or get in touch with our team directly.
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Cold coffee packaging
