Shelving the BEANS

Photo Courtesy of Flair Packaging International

Retailers no longer have to "brown bag it"

By Bridget Weber

The one-way degassing valve and high-barrier foil packaging have helped the specialty coffee industry build a strong customer base centered on fresh full-flavored coffee. The packaging is the vehicle that allows roasters and retailers to bring the freshest coffee to the market, packed immediately after roasting and staying fresh for weeks, sealed in its cozy, oxygen-free environment.

Packaging suppliers have offered high-barrier bags for some time, so the technical aspects of packaging may not be new. Trends indicate roasters and retailers are mixing and matching structural characteristics as well as printing styles. And many packaging companies have graphics and engineering departments on staff to design a unique structure and eye-catching look for their customers.

The sturdy-looking, square-bottomed coffee bag is what retailers and customers are accustomed to and packaging suppliers find that their customers are reluctant to move into other shapes. The stand-up zipper pouch has gained some acceptance, as coffee drinkers have become used to zipper-type closures in other food packaging. “The packaging getting traction in the market is the quad-seal with zipper," says Glenn Sacco, vice president of sales and marketing, Pacific Bag, Inc. “It offers the same footing as the standard coffee packaging, but gives them the ability to add a zipper." Pacific Bag has been providing stock and custom packaging for the specialty coffee industry for more than 20 years and offers the quad-seal bags with zippers in stock colors or custom printing.

Photo courtesy of Pack Plus Converting Corp.

North Atlantic Specialty Bag also markets a hybrid bag for coffee packaging. “The Gourmet Festive bag is a cross between a paper bag with a square bottom, and a foil bag, but with a foil polyester layer on the outside similar to high-barrier foil, and it offers five to six weeks of shelf life," says Pat Trenkle, president.

Joy Weedon, senior account executive for Pack Plus Converting, says customers like the company's four-corner, seal-bag style with a built-in zip-lock closure. “It relieves you of having to add a tin tie or resealable tape to the traditional side-gusseted bags," says Weedon.

She adds that some retailers like the convenience of the narrow width compared to the zip-lock pouch style of other types of packaged foods. “When displayed on the store shelf the pouch takes up more space, and with the quad seal, they can have two bags facing out rather than one bag," Weedon says.

Preservation of the bean is the most important feature of packaging, but the length of time the bean remains in the bag best determines the type of container for holding the beans after roasting and before brewing. For those roasters packaging for increased shelf life, the ultimate barrier to flavor loss has foil in the structure, says Trenkle.

Foil-lined bags bar oxygen from depleting the coffee's flavor during shipping and can provide for a shelf life of 30 to 60 days. On the other hand, Sacco says a small retailer may roast in the back and sell in the front, probably roasting and selling in the same day, and they can use a paper bag with a tin tie.

The one-way degassing valve allows for the instant packaging of roasted beans by letting the off-gassing of carbon dioxide from the beans escape through the one-way valve.

Photo courtesy of Signature Packaging

Trenkle says that in the drive to provide the freshest coffee possible, some roasters are looking at controlling the environment during the packaging itself. He offers an example, “if you are packaging coffee in a high-humidity environment, that is what is going to go into the bag along with the beans."

To eliminate any oxygen entering the bag during packaging, some roasters bring nitrogen into the bag. “The introduction of nitrogen will exhaust the oxygen and create a more neutral environment and that could increase the shelf life of the beans," says Trenkle. He estimates the basic packaging machine that pulls a vacuum and introduces nitrogen back into the bag to run at about $5,000.

Roasters take pride in how fresh the beans are when the consumer opens the foil bag and smells that sweet, earthy coffee aroma. What the nitrogen flushing offers the coffee-buying customer is the knowledge that the roaster is doing everything possible to provide the freshest coffee possible, says Jay Cramblit, vice president of sales, Signature Packaging Group.

The roaster/retailer bent on providing the freshest coffee possible might consider nitrogen flushing. On the other hand, Sacco says that some roasters opt to skip the nitrogen flushing since it adds another step and slows the packaging process. The foil bag offers such reliable protection against oxygen intrusion, that some roasters believe that as the beans give off CO2 it can push the oxygen out of the bag through the one-way valve along with the CO2 gasses.

Flair International operations manager Cheryl Miller describes the best barrier as a multi-laminate film with polyester on the outside, foil in the middle and linear low-density polyethylene for the inner liner next to the beans. But she suggests a less costly option that provides a good oxygen barrier is using a vacuum metalized layer in the middle rather than foil. Another option that offers sufficient barrier qualities for long-term storage is saran-coated polyester, says Miller. With that option, retailers can place a window on the bag so customers can see the beans, she says.

Packaging for recognition
When considering the practical side of bean storage to maximize flavor, the visual presentation of the packaging can be as important as the structural configuration.

Photo courtesy of North Atlantic Specialty Bag

“What sells is the packaging on the shelf," says Cramblit. “It's the sales person for your company on the shelf."

Trenkle says his customers are really focusing on increased graphics and the presentation made by the bag's design to coffee buyers. “The graphics are getting more elaborate," he says.

Along with eye-catching, buy-me labeling, the look of the packaging can attempt to advertise environmental consciousness, although the technology of a recyclable barrier material has yet to catch up with the ethic.

Coffee is sensitive to its environment so it requires a substantial barrier material. At the same time buyers are looking to be more environmentally conscious, but the barrier material has yet to offer a recyclable alternative. Paper bags can be used by those roasters who package at the retail level and inform customers to seal the beans once they get them home. Sealed glassine-lined paper will give a shelf life of a week or two.

Even though the packaging itself is not recyclable or made from recyclable materials, many roasters are opting to indicate “organic" by the look of the packaging through the use of matte finishes or Kraft paper exteriors.

Weedon says customers are experimenting with dual finishes as they look for more creative ideas to package coffee. “They use matte and glossy finishes to work together to give a special effect," says Weedon. “It gives you that paper bag look to go with the organic."

Retailers who choose stock bags for packaging their beans can make their mark with printable tin ties. Beth Radloff, marketing spokewoman, says one of Bedford Industries' new products is a printable plastic tin tie. “For the smaller coffee retailers that don't have packaging equipment, if offers a way to put their names on the package," says Radloff.

“The small unique coffee places have a story to tell–how they got started, why their beans are special, or what makes that particular blend special," she says. “The Elastitag gives them a place to do that."

Photo courtesy of Bedford Industries

The Elastitag is a printed label that can be placed on the coffee bag like a gift tag, along with the tin tie used to close the bag for freshness.

The economics of packaging
To get into a packaging program, suppliers suggest retailers start with a stock bag program. If the beans will be available through the Internet, shipped a great distance or stand on a shelf for more than a week, a good foil bag would be the best option for reliably preserving the freshness. Sacco says a retailer could get started in foil packaging on a small scale for around $500. With a stock program, a retailer could purchase 500 bags at 30 cents each and get a heat sealer for $150 to $200 and be in business. That doesn't include the printing of custom labels, although an economical answer to that could be printing custom labels on the office printer.

Don't be fooled by the term “stock" program either. Many companies offer patterned and exclusive colors in stock bags. Cramblit says they have an array of stock selections in solid, pinstripes and swirl patterns.

“Our stock program serves customers who want to put labels on their coffee bags or pouches," says Miller. “Many small companies are doing multiple SKUs and private labeling fits their business better."

Photo courtesy of Pacific Bag

Custom printing on coffee bags requires a higher minimum purchase than with a stock bag program, with total costs of $7,500 to $10,000 for the side-gusseted foil bags with a one-way valve.

Signature Packaging Group offers a packaging option to help small retailers make the leap to higher sales. “Our Finpack program gives people six months before they have to pay for packaging," says Cramblit. “The custom packaging can let them tell their story and the financing helps them get their product on the shelf."

For coffee that moves quickly, retailers can save money by taking some of the barrier out, Cramblit says. For one new option, the company pulled aluminum out to put windows in to show off the quality of the beans. He suggests that another cost-saving measure for coffee retailers is packaging at the store level for coffee beans that will be used within the next week. Degassing valves may be an added expense–costing 15 to 30 percent of the packaging, says Cramblit.

Packaging companies also develop unique shipping packages and gift boxes, setting up retailers with seasonal gift packaging, like 2-oz. baby pouches that can be shrink-wrapped together and sold as a premium item.

In the end, the best advice for choosing packaging is to buy as much barrier as the coffee beans need, determined by the freshness quotient desired and the time on the shelf. In a competitive environment, the look of the packaging may be what helps it succeed.