ALL ABOUT OUR NEW PACKAGING

As you know, since the beginning of the year 2022 we have also dedicated ourselves to roasting. This new task has demanded a lot from us and we have had to learn a lot in a very short time. But it was also exciting to dive into topics that we had previously only dealt with from the consumer's point of view. And one of these topics was the choice of the "right" packaging.

No, don't worry, this won't be a dry description of the project, but we think it's important and interesting how the whole process went and wanted to share it with you. 

We started the project already last year, when it was clear that we will go the roasting step. On the whole, it has taken almost a year until now the packs are finally on our shelves. 

What were our initial requirements after our first brainstorming session:

• they must look cool
• stand out from all other packaging
• reflect kaffemik
• ethically produced
• produced in the EU
• cost-technically justifiable
• high product protection
• high quality appearance
• they must be easy to fill
• they should look well filled (not too empty)
• they should be space-saving (save packaging, save space, save CO2)
• so in short, the egg-laying-wool-milk-sow (every*r IT-ler knows immediately what I mean ;-) ) but I must say we have managed it quite well. 

Just for fun our first "draft" ;-) but as you can see our graphic designer Martina Stoiber wasn't really on board yet.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

 

SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION

The production of the packaging was particularly challenging. Almost ALL coffee packaging (aroma valve bags) is produced in China. Even well known companies in Europe where coffee bags can be ordered, source their bags from China. Apart from the working conditions, which we cannot control, we also do not know which materials are used in detail, because we were denied information about exact locations.

However, we have found a German company PACKIRO, which is dedicated to environmentally friendly packaging. They produce exclusively within the EU, and take their responsibility as a packaging production site by not only producing, but also thinking about the "life of the packaging afterwards". The goal is to bring the packaging into a recycling cycle and to actually do so and not just "because it says it can be done anyway". We can also communicate with a clear conscience how the packaging can be disposed of. 

MATERIAL

So our packaging is made of a monoplastic (PP), which means that no other materials are used. This allows this packaging to be disposed of in the yellow garbage can in Austria (except Vienna🥴). According to MA48, it is currently only possible to put aluminum cans and PET bottles in this garbage can in Vienna. However, a change may result from the planned merger of the waste systems in Vienna and Lower Austria). Until the packaging can be disposed of in the yellow garbage can in Vienna and can be recycled, we will offer to collect the used packaging at kaffemik (Zollergasse 5, 1070 Vienna) and to dispose it properly in Lower Austria (our roastery is located in Lower Austria, so we pay our waste fees there ;-) ) to dispose properly.

But the material is also a very good protection for our valuable coffee beans - moisture, oxygen and UV rays cannot harm them now. 

PACKAGING

So we decided to use a block bottom bag. They look dashing, stack well when packing, and they're nice and compact. We had to make a few sacrifices in the handling of the packaging, as the environmental issues were more important to us. 

COST

The packaging is of course more expensive than those produced in China, but this is also due to the possibility of producing small quantities. We are in the 500 piece range where other companies are in the 5,000 - 10,000 piece range. This has allowed us a flexibility also in the area of colors. Who knows us, knows we love our PRIDE rainbow ;-) and the selection of our colors in which the packages appear, remind, if they stand together in the shelf, also of a rainbow. And every coffee gets the presentation it deserves. Furthermore, we wanted to continue using the color concept that the original ALPHA team introduced, because many of our customers found it quite convenient to just have to remember the color ;-) We confess, we also do this internally to some extent.