Key takeaways

Girls Who Grind Coffee uses custom illustration and colour-coded labelling to tell the story of each woman they work with.
Their packaging also focuses on freshness first, with resealable zip-locks, degassing valves, and a flat-bottom design that works as well on a shelf as it does in a kitchen cupboard.
Sustainability is structural rather than cosmetic, with mono-material LDPE pouches, water-based inks, and a lightweight design that cuts shipping emissions.

World’s Greatest Coffee Packaging Spotlight is a series that highlights the finalists and honourable mentions of MTPak Coffee’s World’s Greatest Coffee Packaging competition. This week, we take a look at Girls Who Grind Coffee, a roastery that has turned every bag into both a political statement and a piece of art.

Girls Who Grind Coffee is an independent, female-founded specialty coffee roastery based in Warminster, Wiltshire (UK) with a clear mission: to source exclusively from women producers, and make their stories impossible to ignore. Founded by Casey and April, the roastery has built a following not just for the quality of its coffee, but for the conviction behind every decision it makes – including what its bags look and feel like.

It was celebrated in MTPak Coffee’s World’s Greatest Coffee Packaging competition for packaging that is as much driven by design as it is by purpose. What caught the panel’s attention was how Girls Who Grind Coffee’s packaging manages to be bold, functional, and genuinely sustainable, without any of those qualities feeling like an afterthought.

To learn more, we spoke to Casey LaLonde, Co-Founder of Girls Who Grind Coffee. Read on for her insight.

Design as storytelling

For many specialty coffee roasters, the colour palette has become quite familiar in recent years: kraft brown, muted greens, off-whites. Girls Who Grind Coffee does something different.

“In a sea of generic, earth-toned coffee bags, our white pouches with dynamic black line-art illustrations bring a fresh, energetic, and approachable design to specialty coffee,” Casey explains.

The illustrations are custom-created by artist Juliette Van Rhyn. The centrepiece is a powerful image of women high-fiving – a deliberate celebration of the producers behind each coffee. Vibrant labels set each coffee apart: pink for Wubit Bekele’s Single Origin Washed, teal for the Dreamy Decaf blend. Stickers reading “Grown by women” make the sourcing story impossible to miss.

No two bags in the line-up are alike. Each one draws from the producer’s story, the coffee’s origin, and its flavour notes – turning the range into what Casey describes as a collectable series.

“This isn’t just aesthetic flair. It’s innovative storytelling that educates and inspires,” she says. “Unlike standard labels with stock photos, our designs integrate QR codes linking to producer bios, fostering deeper consumer connections.”

Balancing design and functionality

Good-looking packaging that doesn’t work well is a missed opportunity. For Girls Who Grind Coffee, functionality is taken just as seriously as design.

Their stand-up pouches feature a resealable zip-lock and a built-in one-way degassing valve. This keeps beans fresh for up to 6 to 12 months, releasing CO2 without letting oxygen in. The flat-bottom design gives the bag stability: easy to store, easy to display. The lightweight, flexible material allows for clean, precise pouring.

“We’ve optimised for versatility,” Casey says. “Bags are compact for subscriptions and wholesale, with ergonomic grips that reduce spills during use.”

Sustainable by design

For Girls Who Grind Coffee, sustainability is not a badge to display on the side of the bag. It is built into the structure of the bag itself.

The pouches are made from fully recyclable low-density polyethylene (LDPE) – a mono material that removes the need for multi-layer plastics and is compatible with recycling code 4 streams in the UK and EU. Water-based inks and minimal labelling allow them to further reduce packaging waste. Finally, their lightweight design reduces shipping emissions by up to 30% compared to heavier packaging alternatives.

“Sustainability isn’t a buzzword for us, it’s baked into every bag,” Casey says.

That commitment reflects something broader about how Girls Who Grind Coffee operates. Every element of the business, from sourcing exclusively through women producers to the materials chosen for its packaging, is held to the same standard.

Girls Who Grind Coffee’s entry is a reminder that the strongest packaging doesn’t have to choose between making a statement and doing the right thing. By combining artist-led illustration, thoughtful functionality, and mono-material construction, the roastery has created something that works as hard as the women behind it.

At MTPak Coffee, we support roasters like Girls Who Grind in bringing bold packaging visions to life. We offer full digital printing, sustainable materials, and customisation options to help your brand stand out on any shelf. Contact the MTPak Coffee team to learn more about our fully customised coffee bags.

FAQ

What makes Girls Who Grind Coffee’s packaging unique?
The combination of custom illustration, producer storytelling, and mono-material construction sets it apart. Every bag in the range is distinct, designed to reflect the individual producer and coffee inside.

How does Girls Who Grind Coffee use design to tell its story?
Through custom artwork by illustrator Juliette Van Rhyn, colour-coded labelling, and QR codes linking directly to producer bios, the sourcing story is made central to the packaging rather than a footnote.

What sustainable materials does Girls Who Grind Coffee use?
Their pouches are made from recyclable LDPE 4 mono-material, printed with water-based inks, and designed to be lightweight to reduce shipping emissions.