Discover Custom Coffee Beans Packaging Ideas to Stand Out of the Crowd

If you’re looking for a way to take your coffee business to the next level, then it's time to explore different coffee beans packaging ideas. There are few things as appreciated as a hot cup of coffee, but what should be just as appreciated is the packaging. That’s because the packaging keeps the beans fresh and the taste intact, so that the flavor profile appears as intended in the brewed coffee. 

Beyond the impact the packaging has on the flavor of coffee is the very real effect it can have on your business. In fact, a 2018 study conducted by the US Paper and Packaging Board and IPSOS revealed that 72 % of buyers say their buying decisions are influenced by packaging. 

In this article, we’re going to get into the different types of coffee packaging available, what to look for when choosing packaging, and how to choose the best coffee packaging for your business. 

Why Your Coffee Bean Packaging is More Than Transportation

Your packaging matters for two very big reasons: freshness and brand story. Those two factors combined can really affect how you are perceived and whether or not you will be in the business for the long haul. 

Because Your Coffee Beans Are Sensitive

While coffee beans may appear hardy, their hard exterior is quite porous and hygroscopic. That means the beans will easily absorb surrounding smells and moisture, which could lead to a not-so-great cup of brewed coffee.

They are also quite sensitive to temperature, light, and oxygen, all of which can affect the quality of the final cup of brewed coffee. That means when you're coming up with great coffee beans packaging ideas, remember that packaging has to not only look good, but it’s also got to protect the beans from all external factors.

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Your Coffee Beans Have a Story

And of course, we do need to talk about the ‘looking good’ part. Your coffee bean packaging is a representation of what you are as a brand. Sure, you can put your beans in any old stock paper bag. But does that tell your story?

Your coffee bean packaging is an opportunity for you to tell your brand story. In fact, it’s not only your opportunity to tell your brand story, but your brand packaging can be a key marketing tool. This allows you to use a necessary expense as a part of your marketing strategy, thereby reducing your overall expenses by allowing one component to do double duty.

Different Types of Coffee Packaging Affect Customer Experience

Each time a customer interacts with your brand, there is an opportunity to create an experience. We can illustrate this simply. Let’s take the example of gift-giving. You can put the same gift in a plastic shopping bag, or you can place it in a gift box and wrap that box with wrapping paper and top it with a bow. At the end of the day, the gift itself stays the same, but the receiver's experience differs astronomically.

The shopping bag receiver will surely be thankful for whatever the gift is, but the experience in itself won’t be a particularly pleasant one. On the other hand, the gift box receiver has a wonderful experience where they feel special and appreciated, which makes what’s in the box even better. 

Using the above example, let’s look at a great coffee bean packaging idea. You can place your coffee beans in a plain stock coffee bag, which will result in an unmemorable experience. Or you can put your coffee beans in custom coffee packaging, like a Matte Coffee Bag With Valve, which provides a beautiful finish for visual and tactile pleasure while also ensuring freshness. That experience is heightened with the personality of your brand, which brings your customer into your coffee shop even when they’re at home.

Coffee Bean Packaging Creates Trust 

Discerning coffee bean consumers want to know a lot of information about their beans. And these same customers expect that a professional coffee bean supplier should have that information readily available on their packaging.

Information that customers want to know includes the following;

• Coffee bean origin 
• Sourcing (ethics)
• Roast level
• Roast date
• Net weight

By providing this information directly on the packaging you create trust as your customer's know exactly what they're getting inside the package.

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What to Look for In a Custom Coffee Bag

The purpose of your coffee bean packaging is to keep your coffee beans fresh and protected. These are the things you need to look for when evaluating bags.

Durability

Your material type should be able to handle the rigours that you will be putting the packaging through. The bag material should not tear when being handled during storage and shipping.

Barrier

Your coffee bag needs to have a layer that prevents oxygen and light from getting in, while allowing the beans to breathe and CO2 to escape.

Seal

The closure for your bag needs to be airtight so that oxygen and light stay out.

Print Surface

The material for the bag should be able to accept ink in order to go through the printing process.

Key Coffee Bag Components 

Valve

A one-way valve helps your roasted coffee beans hold onto their flavor. That’s because those beans release carbon dioxide, which needs to be let out of the bag without letting oxygen come in. 

Seal

To keep your coffee beans fresh, you want to avoid letting oxygen into the coffee bag. That means the closure of your bag is very important. The better the closure, the longer the beans will stay fresh. Resealable bags provide one of the best ways to ensure that your coffee beans stay fresh.

Material

The type of material used in your coffee bag is going to determine how fresh your coffee beans stay. How fresh the beans stay will depend on the strength of your material and the type of barrier properties the material has that prevent moisture, oxygen, and light from getting into the packaging. Let's look at a few different materials for coffee beans packaging ideas.

Kraft Paper 

Kraft paper is made out of pulp, which results in a strong material that has a high tear resistance. It is biodegradable, but oftentimes it is lined with something that is not biodegradable. That lining is necessary as a barrier, and typical linings are made from plastic or aluminium. 

Tissue Paper

These types of bags are also made from a pulp material, but are far more delicate than kraft paper. The more delicate material makes them smooth to the touch and semi-transparent. Custom Tissue Paper Coffee Bags are a biodegradable and sustainable choice, but are not as tear-resistant as other materials.

Aluminium

Aluminium makes an excellent barrier against the elements. It protects against moisture as well as light and oxygen. It is also quite durable, however it is not easily recyclable.

Plastic

There are a variety of plastics that can be used for coffee bags. They range in how well they perform as a barrier, but most are efficient as moisture barriers, and when paired with other lining materials, can protect against light and oxygen. 

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Discover Custom Coffee Bag Ideas

There is a whole wide world of coffee bags available for you to package your coffee beans in. The coffee beans bag you choose should align with your brand story. For example, if you are an eco-conscious brand, you should be using a bag made of recyclable materials, or if you’re a brand that touts originality and a bespoke coffee experience, you may want to choose packaging that reflects that, like a Custom Coffee Box.

Let’s get into some of the coffee packaging options available to you.

Kraft Paper Bags

These types of bags are the very basic, earthy-looking, inexpensive coffee bean packaging that you will see at places like farmers’ markets. Because of lower material costs and no bells and whistles, the costs are low, but you may be exchanging that low cost for a shorter shelf life, as these types of bags do not have great moisture barriers.

Who They’re For

They’re great if you’re a small batch producer that sells out quickly and are not concerned about your coffee beans sitting in-house for a long time.

Inspiration

This type of bag lends itself to an eco-conscious, ethically-sourced small producer, and you can lean into that marketing and use the bags for farmers’ markets, trade shows, and small batch releases.

Side Gusset Coffee Bags

This is the classic custom coffee bag. As the name says, side gusset bags have gusseted sides rather than the gusseted bottom of the stand up coffee bags. They end up with a sort of rectangular shape when filled and cannot be used for stand-up displays. They come in a variety of materials and oftentimes are able to hold more product than their counterparts.  

These bags are an economical custom bag option, but you will need to get creative with the displaying of them as they can’t be stood upright.

Who They’re For

This is a great entry-level custom bag option for brands that want a classic-looking bag. It’s a good option for wholesalers and even brands that want an old-school aesthetic.

Inspiration

Since these bags don’t stand upright, you can get creative with displays using baskets and containers that lean into a more vintage aesthetic.

Stand-Up Bags

This is the entry-level custom coffee bag for front-face branding displays. It is structured with a bottom gusset that allows it to stand-up on shelves when it is full. The stand-up bag comes in a variety of materials, including kraft paper laminate and foil-lined laminates, and can be found as a resealable and non-resealable bag. 

Who They’re For

The Stand Up Bag provides an affordable option for coffee roasters and cafes looking to get into custom-printed coffee bags on a budget.

Inspiration

To create something special for your customers, try a custom Coffee Bag With Handle. These are unique pieces that are fun to hold and also don’t require you to put your stand-up bag in a shopping bag. That also means your brand packaging is visible when your customer purchases the coffee beans and walks out of the store with the coffee bean bag in their hand, rather than hidden away in a shopping bag. 

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Flat Bottom Bags

The Flat Bottom Bag is a popular coffee bag option for retail stores, as the flat bottom is great for neat and organized displays. It is also called a box pouch, as the end result of a filled bag is a satisfyingly structured box-like bag ready for display. The bag opens up on all four sides, which makes it great for quick filling. It also has five printable sides for maximum branding. 

Who They’re For

This bag is great for customers looking to create a modern retail display in their storefront. It is also ideal for customers who can afford to spend a little more on their packaging to provide customers with a premium product look.  This bag is a little more expensive than an entry-level bag and is ideal for coffee business owners who want to provide their customers with a premium-looking bag. 

Inspiration

Use both the front and back panels of your packaging to send a clear message about your brand story. While the front may be on display in your store, when it leaves your store, you don’t know how it’s going to be placed, and you want your brand to be visible all of the time. Additionally, think about messaging on the bottom half of your packaging, as the top part might end up being rolled down as the coffee beans get used, you want the customer to remember your brand right down to the end. 

Quad Seal Bags

These bags look similar to flat bottom coffee bags, but the key difference is that they have a seal on four sides. This four-sided sealing matters because it creates rigidity and strength, making them exceptionally stable. The sealing gives the bags a sort of oblong shape rather than the boxy shape of the flat bottom bags. 

Who They’re For

Quad seal bags are the older version of the flat bottom bag, so if you’re nostalgic, you might want to use this type of packaging. They are also slightly less expensive than flat bottom bags, which means you get the sturdiness of the flat bottom at a lower cost. 

Inspiration

Quad bags use a single panel from front to bottom to back, which provides a great opportunity to create a seamless front-to-back design for a signature packaging look. 

Valve Bags

These bags are the standard for ensuring your coffee beans stay fresh and the coffee holds its flavor. The valve removes carbon dioxide released by the roasted beans while also ensuring oxygen does not get in. The valve also extends the shelf life of your coffee beans. You can find valve bags in a variety of shapes, including flat bottom and side gusset bags. 

Who They’re For

These types of bags are for anyone who wants to ensure the freshness of their coffee beans. It’s especially important to use this type of bag if you tend to have large supply shipments that sit on your shelves for a long period of time before they are purchased.

Inspiration

Add knowledge to your packaging, telling your customers what the valve does. Alternatively, create a knowledge board to place next to your valve bags to tell your customers about what the valve actually does. This will prop up your branding on the bags and reinforce your positioning as a quality coffee bean purveyor. 

Resealable Zipper Bags

The resealable zipper bag provides one of the best ways available to keep your coffee beans fresh for as long as possible. The zipper closure helps to lock the freshness in and keep the oxygen out.

Who They’re For 

Zipper closures are a bit of a standard when it comes to good quality coffee bean packaging. That means if you can afford it, you should be packaging your coffee in a bag with a zipper to ensure product freshness. For ultimate freshness, try a Resealable Coffee Bag With Valve.

Inspiration

Place an interesting graphic below the zipper closure, reminding your customer to close the zipper. It’s a fun way to create a relationship with your customer without having to be in the kitchen with them as they brew their coffee.

Containers

On the higher end of packaging for coffee are containers like tins and jars. They provide great protection and also create a great user experience.

Who They’re For

Since these are more on the expensive end, they might be ideal for special packaging for gift sets or special editions.

Inspiration

You can use these types of packages for special, limited-edition types of roasts. It gets customers excited about something new, and at the same time, you have a beautiful-looking display in your store as well as for marketing. 

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How to Decide Which Bag is the Best for You

There are so many different types of coffee packaging available on the market that it can get confusing when figuring out which packaging is the best for your business right now. Prioritize the quality of your packaging over bells and whistles until you can afford the bells and whistles. Let’s get into the factors you can use to judge your packaging by.

Budget

Your budget plays a big role in which custom coffee bag you are going to have printed for your business. There are many options to choose from, and you have many ways to get the exact look you want on your packaging while staying within your budget. Thanks to custom printing, you can get the look and feel of a high-end bag if you can’t exactly splurge on the high-end materials right now. 

Shelf Life

Different coffee businesses have different shelf life needs. Small artisanal coffee bean producers may package and ship all of their stock almost immediately, while large companies may hold onto their coffee bean packages for a long time. Choose a bag type in accordance with how long you need the shelf life to be.

Brand Story

Since your packaging is an important part of your brand, make sure ot choose a packaging type that reflects your brand culture. Whether it’s high-end tins or the humble kraft paper bag, the packaging should be in line with your overall brand messaging.

Customer

At the end of the day, what your customer wants is more important than anything. So, when you are selecting your packaging, think about what your customer would most want to take home and put in their kitchen. Do they care more about the look of your packaging? Do they care about biodegradability? Whatever they care about most should be reflected in the packaging you put their coffee beans in.

Wrap Up

There are so many coffee bean packaging ideas available in today’s market that you are almost spoiled for choice. The great thing about all of the options is that there is a type of packaging that is going to fit your budget while also ensuring your product is protected. And most importantly, you can ensure your customer has a positive experience when handling your package, as well as when they take a sip of their first cup of coffee made with their new favorite brand of coffee beans. 

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