What do eco-friendly coffee bags say about a roastery’s values?

Key takeaways

• Eco-friendly coffee bags now sit alongside taste and price as a purchase signal, with 43% of coffee consumers reporting that environmental and social responsibility influences them.
• Rice paper, LDPE, PLA, recyclable degassing valves and sustainable inks all give roasters ways to build eco-friendly coffee bags without losing print quality.
• The trade-off is real. Recyclable mono-materials and compostable films can offer less barrier protection and cost more, so the saving has to survive the whole supply chain.

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Packaging is one of the first things a customer sees and one of the last things a roaster decides. That order matters, because the bag ends up carrying the environmental claims a roastery makes about itself.

Black & White Coffee Roasters in Raleigh, North Carolina, moved away from aluminium-lined bags to something easier to recycle. Founder and Director Kyle Ramage made the change after his business partner, who had worked in recycling, explained the problem with aluminium liners. We spoke with Kyle about what that switch cost, what it protected, and what it says to customers. Read on for his insights.

What makes a coffee bag eco-friendly?

Eco-friendly coffee bags are ones whose every component can be recycled or composted in the customer’s region. They also have to protect the coffee well enough to prevent waste elsewhere.

As consumers gradually care more about the products they purchase, especially in younger generations, they are demanding more eco-friendly packaging with products such as coffee. Research has revealed that 43% of coffee consumers report being influenced by companies that are environmentally friendly or socially responsible. The bags that hold coffee beans can sometimes contain materials that nobody can recycle or compost, which pushes some eco-conscious consumers to other products. Over recent years, more roasters have moved to eco-friendly coffee bags, appealing more to these consumers.

The bags of coffee directly represent the values of each roaster. Eco-friendly coffee bags reveal that a roaster cares for the environment and seeks to reduce their carbon footprint or impact on the planet. There are now more options for a coffee roaster to incorporate eco-friendly materials. This includes rice paper, low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polylactic acid (PLA) and even recyclable degassing valves and ink.

For Black & White Coffee Roasters, the switch came down to one question. “We are always trying to find the balance between something that is able to be recycled and also provide an oxygen barrier – a bit of a multi-faceted approach” explains Kyle.

Yet, in some cases, recyclable bags can be less protective of the beans they hold. That can lead to waste that supersedes the waste saved from the recyclable bag itself. The risk grows when bags travel, sit on shelves, or take a route other than straight to the consumer.

Thus, there must be a balance for eco-friendly coffee bags to stay sustainable while also protecting the coffee beans. It is vital the coffee industry reduces its waste, especially considering that the global coffee sector generates more than 23 million tonnes of waste every year. Packaging decisions directly communicate a roaster’s values to consumers, which is why sustainable packaging sits at the centre of a circular economy in coffee.

What do eco-friendly coffee bags communicate to customers?

Eco-friendly coffee bags tell a customer how the pack can be disposed of, and they signal which values the roaster wants to be judged on.

Packaging reveals to the consumer the values of a roaster, and can be the selling point when browsing the shelves or looking online. Of course, how the bag looks is important, but so is the messaging, such as “100% recyclable bag” or “this bag is compostable”. Consumers who look for opportunities to reduce their own footprint will look for these labels in order to follow their own values. So, they look for roasters who mimic their own sustainability goals. And 46% of these consumers are expecting brands to take the charge and make more eco-friendly decisions with their products.

This on-pack messaging is simply an indicator to the consumer about how to dispose of the bag. It can also show that the roaster cares about the environment. These labels are not lectures to the consumer to recycle or compost. The words are simply a reflection of the roasters’ values, and who they hope to appeal to. Perfect Daily Grind has also argued that brands need to care about more than certifications if those claims are going to hold up.

For Kyle, he says that “I did not want to be subjecting people to trying to recycle these aluminium lined bags. Not sure if the customers notice at all, I am sure some do, some people are trying to be as eco-friendly as possible. It is not as top of the mind at the moment. Customers viewpoints change and ebb and flow as time goes on.”

When they shifted to eco-friendly coffee bags, they already had an established customer base that perhaps did not notice. But this could inspire new eco-conscious customers to look to Black & White Coffee Roasters for beans in the future.

Packaging choice can be a decision made by a roaster to target specific audiences and customers. But it can also be a way for a roaster to follow through with their own sustainability goals. MTPak Coffee’s guide to the most sustainable coffee packaging sets out what each claim actually covers. Yet, in some cases, eco-friendly coffee bags can come at a cost.

What do roasters trade off when choosing eco-friendly coffee bags?

Roasters usually trade barrier performance and unit cost for recyclability, and sometimes have to rework their sealing process to suit the new material.

When a roaster decides to package their coffee in more eco-friendly materials, they will potentially run into some risks. In certain situations, recyclable mono-material formats may lack barrier protection. This means that the beans have less protection, because a flimsier pack surrounds them compared to the less recyclable counterparts.

The same goes with compostable bags: less support and protection, but easier to dispose of sustainably. Yet, for some, these bags are not compostable in every home, and can be challenging to actually compost. So perhaps this may not be the most ideal option, especially considering not every city offers composting services.

There is a way to have eco-friendly coffee bags that protect the coffee, but it will be an increase in costs. It depends on what the roastery wants and how much they are willing to pay. Therefore, some roasters treat the shift to eco-friendly coffee bags as a brand investment. That calculation gets harder when prices move, and Perfect Daily Grind has asked whether sustainability slips down the list when coffee prices stay volatile.

Sustainable materials do cost more than the plastic, non-recyclable materials. This can also be a hurdle for smaller roasters who may not have a high MOQ (minimum order quantity) for their bags. There is also the question of how much these sustainable materials can help with shelf life, considering they have less of a barrier. So, there are a number of trade-offs a roaster must think of when taking the leap to bag their beans in these materials.

“Yes, there is a cost associated. Trying to find material that is number 4 recyclable is challenging and those materials are not as sturdy as some of the other packaging options are. And those materials respond differently to the heat-sealing process than some other bags do,” adds Kyle. So Black & White Coffee Roasters had to develop a new sealing process that did not harm the new bags, preventing waste and product loss.

It is simply up to the roasters themselves if they want to make the leap. Stepping into the realm of sustainable packaging carries risks, but it also appeals to more customers and reduces the impact a roastery has on the environment.

MTPak Coffee offers a low MOQ, allowing roasters to begin with small batches and test eco-friendly coffee bags before buying more as they grow. We also offer a one-week turnaround time, making it easier to get custom-printed, sustainable bags quickly. With our range of sustainable products, covering compostable, biodegradable and recyclable formats, MTPak Coffee can fulfil any order or requirement a roaster makes.

Contact our team to talk through your next run.

FAQs

Do eco-friendly coffee bags protect coffee as well as conventional ones?
Not always. Recyclable mono-materials and compostable films can offer a weaker oxygen barrier than aluminium-lined laminates. The right specification closes most of that gap, but it usually costs more per unit.

Are compostable coffee bags compostable at home?
Often not. Many require industrial composting, and not every city offers the service. That is why the claim on the pack should match the disposal route a customer can realistically reach.

Do customers actually notice eco-friendly coffee bags?
Some do. Kyle Ramage says an established customer base may not register the change. But 43% of coffee consumers say environmental and social responsibility influences their purchase, so eco-friendly coffee bags reach new buyers.