In 2025, coffee roasters are expected to refine their operations, with significant attention dedicated to packaging design, a critical component of their overall branding strategy. Dive into the Top 5 Coffee Packaging Trends in 2025, where success will hinge on incorporating sustainability, convenience, and visually appealing elements that resonate with consumer purchasing habits.
Notably, roasters should tailor packaging to meet the demands of Gen Z, who are drawn to bright colors and RTD cold coffee products, necessitating customized packaging solutions. To learn more, I spoke to Shawn Steiman, PhD, owner of Coffea Consulting and Grok Coffee. Read on to see his insight into the main coffee packaging design trends for 2025.
Coffee Packaging Materials: What’s popular and why?
The reign of plastic in coffee packaging is waning, yielding to a surge in sustainable alternatives. Today, roasters enjoy a broader spectrum of choices—compostable coffee bags, recyclable coffee bags, and reusable options—compared to just five years ago.
Eco-conscious materials like LDPE, PET, and PLA are replacing traditional plastics, while kraft paper, rice paper, and cardboard gain traction. The optimal choice hinges on individual business needs. Aligning packaging with brand values and budget is paramount. Communicating sustainability often necessitates a higher investment.
Despite advancements, a flawless packaging solution remains elusive. Recyclable initiatives can falter due to logistical hurdles, and compostable materials, while promising, aren’t without limitations. Reusability emerges as a key focus, though it relies on specific consumer engagement.
Understanding your target audience is crucial for selecting materials that resonate with their values and preferences.
Top1 Coffee Packaging Trends: PCR Pouches
The coffee industry’s environmental footprint, marked by 23 million tons of production waste and 2.5 billion single-use cups annually, underscores the urgent need for sustainable packaging. Balancing eco-consciousness with modern design trends is crucial for roasters.
The evolution towards post-consumer recycled (PCR) materials, as highlighted by Shawn, is a key trend for 2025 and beyond. This involves repurposing recyclable items into new packaging, effectively minimizing waste.
While pioneers like Origin Coffee and Union Coffee have integrated PCR into their bags, widespread adoption remains limited. Smaller roasters may face logistical and cost barriers. However, the shift towards PCR offers a significant opportunity to lessen reliance on single-use materials. Shawn anticipates that once smaller businesses streamline their logistics, they will embrace this sustainable approach.
Paper-Based Coffee Packaging
Shawn predicts that post-consumer recycled (PCR) cardboard tubes will gain prominence in 2025, balancing innovation with sustainability. Their kraft paper composition facilitates consumer recycling. He identifies the integration of one-way degassing valves as a challenge, suggesting airtight lids with embedded valves to maintain freshness.
Furthermore, paper-based alternatives to rigid packaging, such as paper cans, are anticipated to rise. Sonoco’s recent introduction of fully recyclable paper coffee cans, comprising 95% paper and a fiber base, exemplifies this trend. These cans offer a more sustainable, easily recyclable option compared to single-use cups.
Top2 Coffee Packaging Trends: Experiential Coffee Packaging
In 2025, coffee packaging will transcend mere functionality, embracing experiential design. Roasters should leverage technology to create immersive consumer interactions. This approach resonates particularly with tech-savvy demographics like millennials and Gen Z, who readily adopt new technologies.
Integrating QR codes and near-field communication (NFC) tags allows packaging to become a dynamic communication tool. Scanning these features on mobile devices provides consumers with instant access to roaster-generated content, such as articles and videos. This enables brands to convey their values and practices digitally, minimizing the need for extensive printed information.
Top3 Coffee Packaging Trends: Minimalism Coffee Packaging
Consumer purchasing decisions are significantly influenced by packaging design, necessitating roasters’ adaptability to evolving expectations and 2025’s emerging trends.
Minimalist design has gained traction, valued for its aesthetic simplicity and reduced material usage. Simultaneously, paper and cardboard packaging are increasingly favored for their perceived environmental benefits over single-use plastics.
Strategic use of color, typography, and materials remains vital for brand differentiation. Grok Coffee, for instance, utilizes resealable glass jars with 100% recycled paper labels secured by rubber bands, implementing a customer return and reuse system. Shawn regards this approach as a leading sustainable solution.
Top4 Coffee Packaging Trends: Unique & Sustainable Design
In contrast to minimalist aesthetics, bold, maximalist coffee packaging offers a distinct shelf presence. Embracing individuality while prioritizing sustainability, roasters can leverage coffee bags as a canvas for brand expression, a potential 2025 trend.
Couplet Coffee exemplifies this approach with transparent, holographic bags that protect coffee from light. Their vibrant colors and playful iconography create a visually engaging, “busy” design, capturing consumer attention.
This maximalist strategy effectively communicates brand personality and fosters a memorable visual association.
Maintaining sustainability within maximalist designs is achievable. Low-VOC inks and recyclable materials can be employed for features like embossing and card slots, enabling roasters to achieve a balance of quirky aesthetics and environmental responsibility.
Top5 Coffee Packaging Trends: Convenient Coffee Packaging
Consumer convenience remains paramount in coffee purchases, driving 2025 packaging trends towards simplified use, storage, and disposal. Readily recyclable options, like aluminum cans for ready-to-drink (RTD) coffee, exemplify this.
Shawn expresses hope for continued adoption of truly recyclable materials like cans, while voicing concern over the potential resurgence of cheaper, less sustainable plastic bottles.
The pandemic-driven surge in RTD coffee popularity reflects this convenience-seeking trend. Consumers increasingly opt for pre-packaged cold coffee over barista-made drinks. Starbucks’ 2021 report, highlighting nearly 75% of US Q3 sales from cold beverages, underscores this shift. Roasters now have greater capabilities to produce custom RTD products.
Shawn concludes that packaging is evolving towards user-friendliness and environmentally conscious choices. He emphasizes the need for packaging to effectively serve its purpose without compromising environmental sustainability, acknowledging room for further improvement.
What’s popular with custom printed coffee packaging?
The demand for customization is escalating, yet the coffee industry lags in fully capitalizing on this trend. Shawn expresses regret over this untapped potential.
He urges coffee brands to broaden their horizons, researching diverse sectors and innovating their packaging strategies. “Study other industries and be much more creative in coming up with your packaging,” he advises.
Gefen Skolnick, founder of Couplet Coffee, shares this sentiment, highlighting the appeal of unique packaging formats. “I love it when other coffee roasters incorporate different, unique styles of packaging, such as coffee in cans,” she told BN Pack in an article on sensory branding. She also notes emerging trends, like VHS tape-style coffee packaging, showcasing the industry’s evolving creativity.
Personalisation
Brands are increasingly prioritizing personalized customer experiences to enhance perceived value. “For corporate clients, consider crafting unique labels or bespoke coffee blends, when feasible,” suggests a focus on individualization.
While minimum order quantities (MOQs) present challenges, particularly for smaller businesses, strategic investments can mitigate costs. Utilizing stock coffee bags paired with custom-printed labels offers a cost-effective approach to achieving personalized branding with smaller print runs.
Certifications
Certifications offer a potent tool for rapid brand communication due to their instant consumer recognition. Their identifiable nature provides efficient messaging.
A 2024 Macfarlane Unboxing survey reveals that 55% of consumers expect businesses to prioritize sustainable packaging in 2024. However, 42% are unwilling to pay a premium for it. This presents a challenge: businesses must balance sustainability with cost-effectiveness, especially given current economic uncertainties and inflation.
Conclusion
BN Pack specializes in crafting tailored coffee packaging that balances affordability with eco-consciousness, preserving coffee freshness and appealing to environmentally aware consumers. With global experience collaborating with specialty roasters, we’re equipped to assist you in developing optimal recyclable, compostable, and biodegradable packaging for your business and customers.
Furthermore, our diverse customization methods are entirely eco-friendly, leveraging digital printing and sustainable inks. Quote latest Flexible Coffee Packaging From Bn Pack Now!
FAQ
What type of packaging is used for coffee?
Coffee packaging types varies widely, including flexible pouches (with or without degassing valves), rigid containers like tins and jars, paper or cardboard tubes, and increasingly, aluminum cans for ready-to-drink (RTD) coffee.
What are the requirements for coffee packaging?
Key requirements include:
-Maintaining freshness by preventing oxygen and moisture ingress.
-Durability to withstand transport and handling.
-Compliance with food safety regulations.
-Increasingly, sustainability and recyclability.
-Good graphic design, to catch the consumer eye.
What is the best material for coffee packaging?
There’s no single “best” material. The optimal choice depends on factors like product type, shelf life goals, and brand values. Options include:
-LDPE, PET, and PLA (for their recyclability or compostability).
-Kraft paper and cardboard (for their eco-friendliness).
-Aluminum cans (for RTD coffee).
-Glass Jars (for reusability).
The best material will be the material that balances the needed product preservation, with the values of the company, and the needs of the consumer.
What is sustainable coffee packaging?
Sustainable coffee packaging minimizes environmental impact. This includes: —Using recyclable, compostable, or biodegradable materials.
-Employing post-consumer recycled (PCR) content.
-Reducing material waste and energy consumption.
-Creating reusable packaging.
What are the rules for storing coffee?
To maintain freshness, coffee should be stored:
-In an airtight container.
-Away from direct sunlight, heat, and moisture.
-In a cool, dry place.
-Some people store coffee in the freezer, but this is debatable.
Are coffee bags eco-friendly?
It depends on the materials used. Traditional plastic coffee bags are not eco-friendly. However, bags made from:
-Recyclable materials (like PCR).
-Compostable materials (like PLA).
-Biodegradable materials.
-Or paper based materials, are much more eco friendly.
How long is it safe to keep coffee?
Ground coffee is generally best consumed within 1-2 weeks of opening. Whole bean coffee can maintain freshness for longer, typically 2-4 weeks after opening, when stored properly. After these times the coffee will not be unsafe, but the flavor will be greatly reduced. RTD canned coffee will have a best before date printed on the can.