The Covid-19 pandemic caused a sharp rise in domestic coffee brewing in 2020, and its momentum has only increased.
Within that endeavour for consumers to learn more about coffee, there has been a large number who have dived into the art of roasting at home.
Thanks to the wealth of information available online, as well as advanced roasting technology, home roasters almost have everything they need, with the exception of green coffee.
While it may appear traditional large-scale roasters have been left out of the equation, the popularity of home roasting presents an opportunity for them to diversify revenue streams.
Many roasters now have a customer base seeking green beans to roast a home. By choosing to customise your green coffee sample pouches, you can increase brand awareness and boost repeat sales.
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Why should roasters customise their green coffee sample pouches?
A number of popular home roaster brands experienced a sharp increase in equipment sales during the pandemic.
For example, Sweet Maria’s, one of the leaders in the home roasting industry, saw sales increase by 80% in 2020. Other well-known brands, such as Nostalgia Roasters, saw sales increase by 132%.
Additionally, Google searches for “home coffee roasting” have risen by 200%. This has seen many coffee marketplaces and specialty roasters seize the opportunity to sell green beans in smaller bags.
With more roasters catering for home roasting enthusiasts, it may be time to consider how to make your green coffee bags stand out.
As with roast coffee packaging, it is equally important for your green coffee sample bags to reflect your brand identity.
More so, you may find it beneficial to provide your customers with as much information about green coffee as possible.
For instance, the altitude, processing, humidity content, and harvest date of the coffee are essential factors to consider when roasting.
Custom-printing this information on green coffee sample pouches can give customers a greater understanding of the beans. More so, you can choose to convey roasting tips you found valuable as a beginner.
This will not only provide an amazing customer experience, but also build loyalty to your brand.
How packaging materials can affect green coffee quality
While the design of your coffee packaging is important, it is not the only factor to consider.
Green coffee must be packaged with as much care as roast coffee to ensure customers receive the product at its best.
There are numerous ways to package green coffee, as each provides different levels of protection.
For example, burlap sacks are often used as they are cheap, durable, recyclable, and biodegradable.
However, the material is unlikely to shield the beans from liquids or gases that may lead to mould or defects.
Plastic is another affordable and effective material used to protect beans packaged in various sizes. Containers can be lined with plastic for overseas shipping, protecting the beans from damp maritime conditions.
The brand GrainPro uses high-barrier plastic to offer hermetic protection against air and moisture. Additionally, some producers choose to line burlap sacks and shipping containers with high-barrier plastics.
Lastly, vacuum packing is almost exclusively used for premium, high-end specialty nanolots. This is also the most expensive way to package coffee before shipping, and it preserves the beans for a longer period.
Essentially, the goal is to maintain quality by preventing chemical reactions that will degrade the coffee through moisture and oxygen.
Sensorial degradation in green coffee can represent significant financial losses for producers, traders, and roasters.
While a certain degree of degradation over time may be inevitable, the material of the coffee packaging can have a significant impact on the shelf life and quality of the beans.
What to consider when customising green coffee sample pouches
A significant difference between sourcing coffee from origin and selling green beans to a home roaster is the time it takes to reach the end user.
When shipping from origin, the coffee packaging is essential as it must protect the beans from harsh conditions during longer transport times.
However, the timeline from purchase to roast for a home roaster is usually shorter. Usually, these customers will only buy small bags of between 1kg or 2kgs (2lbs to 4lbs) compared to the 60kg (132lbs) bags ordered by commercial roasters.
As the home roaster is likely to experiment to find the ideal roast profile, green coffee sample pouches of around 500g to 2kgs should be adequate.
In general, your green coffee sample pouches should protect the beans from degrading elements while showcasing your brand.
More so, the design for your sample pouches should match that used on your bags of roast coffee to ensure brand consistency.
In order to use packaging space effectively, you can choose to custom-print QR codes on your sample pouches. This will allow customers to access information on the coffee’s inherent characteristics and origin details.
Using coffee packaging to depict origin is a highly effective way of both attracting attention and creating an emotional tie with consumers.
It fosters an appreciation for all the work that goes into producing a bag of coffee, while encouraging customers to broaden their knowledge of the journey from seed to cup.
MTPak Coffee can help you design and custom-print your green coffee sample pouches to ensure they stand out to customers.
We offer a range of 100% recyclable coffee packaging options that can be fully customised to reflect your brand.
Choose from renewable materials such as kraft paper, rice paper, or multilayer LDPE packaging with an environmentally friendly PLA lining, all of which minimise waste.
In addition, we give our roasters complete control over the design process by allowing them to build their own coffee bags. Our design team is available to help you create the ideal look for your green coffee sample pouches.
Plus, we use innovative digital printing technology, with a quick turnaround time of 40-hours and 24-hour shipping time.
MTPak Coffee also offers low minimum order quantities (MOQs) to micro-roasters who are looking to remain agile while showcasing brand identity and a commitment to the environment.
