The world of coffee brands (and brands in general) are usually filled with happy mascots, constantly smiling frontmen, and saccharine do-gooders. But this huge gap between image and truth of real life. (Which incidentally, is also the root cause of most of the world’s problems). Bettr is a B-corp business committed to Bettr-ing our planet through coffee. It’s a tough, complex (and sometimes seemingly unachievable) mission, we wanted to create a brand world that reflected the world of social enterprises in all its messy honest imperfect glory.

Welcome to Bettr Coffee. 100% Delicious. 100% Sustainable. We created a narrative brand system that was based on telling all kinds of stories in every format possible. The kinds of stories not usually found on coffee bags, packaging, inside of a cup or a roll of tape. We filled Planet Bettr with characters who are 100% flawed, yet 100% relatable. Despite their many issues, they still try to be 100% Bettr. It’s how we tackle a jaded, disillusioned audience, making complex problems easy to understand and relatable. At Bettr, we believe nothing is ever 100% perfect but our choices and actions can always make the world 100% Bettr.

Our packaging is functional and sustainable. We use 100% recyclable bags and FSC-certified paper for bean information cards. We also use larger than standard coffee bags at 350g to reduce waste and minimise our carbon footprint. Our goal is to create packaging that is good for the environment and our customers.

We believe packaging should be more than just a way to transport our product. It should also communicate our brand values and connect with our customers. We designed our packaging to be visually appealing and informative, reflecting our commitment to sustainability.

Our whole bean coffee packaging embodies our brand spirit and dedication to three core causes: Mental and Emotional Well-being, Inequality and Access, and Ethical Sourcing and Corporate Responsibility, represented by three character illustrations. The vibrant sunshine colour symbolises hope and positivity. We believe packaging should not only protect and keep our product fresh but also serve as a visual testament to our values and the positive change we seek to bring about.

Caffe Ibis’ packaging is a carefully curated reflection of the brand’s values and progression in the world of coffee. From purposeful color coding to modern aesthetics, we take pride in the brand’s visual design and what it can do for our customers.

We strive to maintain the core elements of our brand identity and uphold our values of stewardship, equity, and community. Thus, our product design celebrates the diversity of our customers and partners around the globe. To achieve this, we have thoughtfully maintained our historic colors, typography, and logo elements from 1976 while strategically incorporating an expanded color palette, additional typography, and updated graphic elements.

Caffe Ibis’ visual identity is a balance of both expression and function, and we believe we have found that balance between the two with our latest branding. Product labels easily communicate valuable details while the assorted colors act as a visual aid to help orientate and navigate details such as country of origin. Our product packaging is designed for clear brand recognition regardless of how a retailer chooses to merchandise our products.

The overall product design represents our brand’s natural, western, and Ibis-inspired bird-friendly aesthetic. Our packaging pays homage to the bird that is our namesake, the White-faced ibis, and shows its beautiful marshland habitat. These details immediately establish our connection to the planet and brings us back to our roots. Along with the brand’s color palette, Caffe Ibis’ typeface adds to our western origins while remaining easy to read, furthering our company standard of accessibility. Our values are further supported with the certification badges that demonstrate our commitment to stewardship and equity, while the many colors of bags communicate our dedication to building welcoming and diverse community.

The intermediate color palette between the bags creates a unifying appeal from one bag to the next. The bags themselves carry an overall theme of complimentary colors in their designs, thus creating a sense of color balance that is eye catching and appealing. With the variety of colors that correspond with their country of origin, we hope to bring attention and curiosity to coffee regions around the world that consumers may not have tried before!

These design elements extend into our other branding such as our hot cups, business cards, coffee server labels, coupons, and general retail presence. To this end, we can help educate our customers and make buying their preferred coffee easier. The way our latest branding honors our history while creating new brand continuity across products facilitates a familiar and positive customer experience. Additionally, seeing all the assorted color bags on the shelf together is a nice nod to our values at Caffe Ibis, a proud woman-owned business and LGBTQ+ powered source of community.

Through our packaging, Caffe Ibis conveys a modern aesthetic through balanced colorways and imagery while remaining purposeful and intentional with our visual identity. We will continue to carry on our history and values but look to the future for inspiration in our packaging and beyond.

URL: https://www.caffeibis.com/

Candid Coffee Roasters is a small batch coffee roaster located in Edmonton, Alberta. We are passionate about bringing unique coffee to our local community. We recently launched our ‘Candid Carton Series’ and we are excited to share them with the world.

Video URL: Instagram

The Coffee bags for Cat & Cloud are arguably the centerpiece of our brand. When we were founded in 2016, we cemented our visual style with a bright and fun blue bag, and it was a big undertaking when it came time to replace that icon.

When designing these new bags it was our goal to make something that honored our classic blue bag, shared more about Cat & Cloud, and was a fun experience. So we went with this blue to pink fade. The blue representing Cat and Cloud and the pink represents coffee.

This is best reflected in our two different 10 ounce bags. Our house coffees like The Answer, all come in the new blue bag. In contrast our single origin coffees come in the inverse, pink bags. Because with these coffees it’s all about the origin of the coffee, so pink comes first.

The labels were another opportunity for us to increase the intention. Specifically with our Single Origins we prioritized the people behind the coffee. Our labels now start typically with the name of the coffee producer. We then list the country of Origin, the region it’s from, then followed by the processing method. We also include a flavor profile. Which consist of three tasting notes, and the light level, indicating if it’s a lighter or darker coffee. So you can have any idea of what the drinking experience might be like.

Coffee bags have the opportunity to do a lot when it comes to informing the guest about who we are, and the coffee we make. Ultimately we landed on packaging that honors that heritage, and represents Cat & Cloud more completely. Their overall esthetic provides a beautiful, fun pop outside of the normal packaging you might see on the coffee shelf of any grocery store. There’s so much intention that went into the design of these bags, and we believe they are a perfect representation of who we are.

The Civil Experience: Calidad

Experience begins the moment you hold our packaging, which proudly echoes “calidad” – a Spanish term embodying ‘quality.’

Crafted from eco-friendly, recyclable fiber, our box boasts an innovative sealing system that elegantly unveils its treasures. The understated yet impactful Civil Roasters logo is meticulously embossed/debossed, capturing attention with its gold foiled accents. A dynamic colorful labeling system graces the exterior, detailing the origin/blend, intricate flavor profiles, and a trove of coffee knowledge, perfect for the discerning enthusiast.

Every surface of our packaging is meticulously conceptualized, mirroring the core values of Civil. As consumers tear the top, they’re greeted by the vibrant Civil ‘rojo’ hue, complemented by heartfelt community messages in shimmering gold foil. This journey culminates with a pristine white kraft bag, crowned with a gold foil ‘Calidad’ diamond emblem – a testament to equilibrium, audacity, and unparalleled quality

Brew Civil, take a sip y Tomatelo Suave…

This packaging is for our wholebean coffee program. These tins are made custom with our own branded colors and embossed font with a tight seal lid. The emboss on the back sets up the perfect in-lay sticker area. We chose to permanently print regions, but due to our single origin farmers-we change specific farms frequently, needing something that we can interchange affordably. We wanted to find a way to stand out amongst most other coffee brands. Most brands on the wall are more of a hardline box, or bag, so we thought we would go for something round. These tins are also incredibly sustainable due to their reusable, refillable, and recyclable nature. Like our overall brand, this product is the perfect example of the merging of old and new.

Max & Iggor Cavalera’s official private label ‘Blood Brothers’ is a true collaborative first with the Brazilian Heavy Metal legends whom helped define and shape a global genre of music so ever-prominent today. ‘Blood Brothers’ celebrates 40 years of releasing legendary metal albums for fans around the world and touring the globe many times over. The private label also celebrates their roots in Minas, Brazil; one of the largest and well-known coffee producing regions in the world. As daily avid coffee drinkers themselves, the Cavalera Tribe wanted to bring a coffee hand-selected by them from their home state in BR, and immerse fans in am epic packaging experience that rivals most heavy metal album art and belongs in any record collection. The art itself presents a comprehensive reflection on their 40 year career incorporating elements from their Sepultura beginnings, through Soulfly, through Cavalera Conspiracy, and bringing everything full circle to their current project which is a rerecording of their first (2) albums. Everyone whom worked on the project wanted the packaging to feel as organic as possible, and as it turned out, the overall design almost has this camouflage aesthetic to it, of which Max is known for his love of donning camo. The artwork itself was designed by our head artist Marina Tsareva whom is also a displaced Ukranian, and actually was just able to return home to UA recently. The coffee has been very popular amongst fans globally where we ship to (5) continents, is currently on a national tour and headed to EUR in a few weeks, and we are establishing a BR version produced in Minas as well as am EU versions. ‘Blood Brothers’ also pays tribute to the indigenous peoples of BR in an effort to ethically source and produce coffee.

URL: http://bloodbrotherscoffee.com

The jars are heavily inspired by the free spirited mentality of the ’60s and ’70s. Our intention was to create a fun, nostalgic, and light aesthetic with an infusion of minimalist sensibilities. We use our logomark to build the repeating pattern on the front of the packaging and use a varying color palette inspired tonally by the ’70s, but also the by flavor of amazing coffee in the jar. Most importantly we wanted to create something sustainable that people felt like they could connect with on a deeper level and functionally use after the coffee is gone.

We designed our packaging system around synesthesia and color associations for conduits of flavor interpretation. By releasing coffees in 9 broad flavor categories we felt we can better translate what’s in the cup over the more nuanced tasting notes traditionally used. The packaging system highlights these interchangeable category sleeves on a custom matte coated holographic box. The Dayglow logo is embossed on the cover sleeve to allow for the other text to take visual precedence. As you open the panel it reveals its holographic counterpart, allowing the consumer to feel the full expression of the brand. The interior bag continues this language both in its exterior and interior panels, shining brightly like the coffee it carries.

Inspired by color theory, we looked into the future and picked some of the colors we loved. Then we created a collage of color tiles for our four categories of coffee.

URL: https://doma-coffee-roasting-company.webflow.io/

In collaboration with our Western Australia-based design agency, Juicebox, each single-origin release is brought to life with its own bespoke label artwork. We provide detailed sensory & origin notes, and they do their magic. Just like the coffee itself, each label represents the beautiful flavours and diverse culture behind them. Our bags are soft-plastic recyclable and certified carbon neutral.

Founded in the pursuit of the American Dream, and born from the cowboy tradition, Yellowstone star, Cole Hauser’, Free Rein Coffee Company delivers high quality coffee for the hard workers, risk takers, dream chasers, and early risers. In order to capture the true flavor of cowboy country, Cole and his team knew they needed to find a roaster deeply rooted in the frontier. And last year, they found one, buying a small-batch roasting facility in San Angelo, Texas that has been perfecting its craft for over 25 years. Available in six different blends offered in whole beans, grounds and single-serve pods, Free Rein brings 25 years of roasting experience from the heartland of Texas to kitchen tables, campfires, wood sheds, and workplaces across America.

Some of the top blends at $15.99 per 12-ounce bag include:

American Dirt: Cole’s signature dark roast blend
Heavy Spur: A high caffeine blend
Branded: A fiery blend of cayenne and cinnamon
Homestead: A balanced, comfortable coffee to relax by the fire with
Prospect: Light roast
Mesteño: Colombian Supremo

A full bag print for our new cold brew blend Frostbite.

URL: https://www.freshroastedcoffee.com/products/organic-frostbite-cold-brew-roasted-coffee

A full bag print for our new cold brew blend Frostbite.

URL: https://www.freshroastedcoffee.com/products/organic-frostbite-cold-brew-roasted-coffee?_pos=1&_psq=frostbite&_ss=e&_v=1.0&variant=40483354574983

Ithaca Coffee Company is thrilled to introduce our latest, stunning, resealable coffee bags. These bags, adorned with captivating metallic holograms and an aqua-teal-turquoise palette, ensure the freshest coffee experience delivered with all of the flair and enchantment of upstate NY.

URL: https://www.ithacacoffee.com/collections/coffee

The Loquat Taxi Blend will take you to your destination with a smooth ride.

This blend of Brazil + Ethiopia has notes of: “milk chocolate, blueberry, brown sugar”.

The Loquat Taxi blend is an omniroast: made to satisfy pour over, espresso, drip, and more.

URL: https://www.loquatcoffee.com/product/-taxi-blend/554

We always say that we are “Cultivating happiness” at Lykke Coffee Farms. Our aim is that no one and nothing gets harmed when you enjoy a cup of coffee. We grow our own coffee at our farms together with the producers as well as buy cherries from our neighbouring farms and share our knowledge and best practices within sustainable coffee farming. We make sure farmers get fair by cutting out all middlemen, plus help them refine their already good coffee into GREAT coffee.

We roast the beans and package them in our sustainable, colourful bags with illustrations and photos that make people feel good. Because speciality coffee doesn’t have to look elegant, serious or boring! We always want to push the envelope to make people feel happy and that drinking a cup of coffee is a little daily celebration. 🌈

/Lykke

URL: https://www.lykkegardar.se/collections/coffee-standard

We are thrilled to submit our recently released 12oz retail packaging to the Sprudge Design Awards. An entirely in-house designed product, facilitated by lead barista and graphic designer Kylee Weatherill, the concept is an expression of new beginnings, hopefulness, and a passion for being present in an ever-changing world. As a roasting company pursuing nuanced, high sweetness, and balanced tasting profiles, we knew how important it was for our community to experience the beauty of coffee both in taste as well as intentionally designed packaging. But even beyond this, the visual concept of this box resembles a rising sun using origin-specific gradient label and insert card. The embossed gold foil of font and outline utilize reflection, light dispersement and contrast to with each gradient color selection. All of the material is either fully recyclable and/or compostable (insert bags).

We included a screen shot of the words on each insert in the file share above, but want to summarize with the same sentiment: It’s an honor to share this design, this coffee, this passion, and this hope for the day we have today. We hope this design magnifies that incredible and intrinsic magic from the joy of coffee and the joy of having today. From all of us at Makeworth, THANK YOU!

URL: https://www.makeworthcoffee.com

For this competition, we’ve infused our design with a brand philosophy that embodies the essence of minimalism, radiates purity, and champions transparency. The square box, a fresh departure from conventional packaging, not only exudes modernity but also lends itself beautifully to stackability, optimizing space with elegant efficiency. Drawing inspiration from the intriguing world of Crossword Puzzles, we’ve artfully depicted the rich tapestry of coffee origins. The palette dances with colors, each hue cleverly echoing the myriad flavors of our blend. Every facet of our design, from material selection to the production process, reverberates with our unwavering commitment to nature and sustainability. By harnessing the virtues of 100% recycled paper and eschewing excessive processing, we’re treading lightly on our planet, crafting a future where design and sustainability harmoniously coexist.

URL: https://www.instagram.com/maven_cafe/

This submission is for our 12oz retail bags and associated packaging. The goal for these bags centered on highlighting our brand color palette, accentuating and incorporating the Night Swim logo in a subtle but elevated manner, and creating an enticing visual backdrop for the coffees that they hold. We partner with Savor brands to design and produce these.

URL: https://nightswimcoffee.com/

A trusted name in specialty coffee since 2005, Olympia Coffee Roasting decided this past year to try something new with our packaging. Made in collaboration with Siegenthaler & Co. in Colombia, our 2023 packaging update engages with our most deeply-held values: connecting quality of coffee to quality of life for all our farmers and staff, all the way from seed to cup. Printed on plant-based, renewable materials and featuring a wrap-around design and unique colorways for each of our evergreen coffees, this brand refresh is designed to foster connection and create joy with every bag.

URL: https://www.olympiacoffee.com

This year Onyx released a new line of teas, featuring all new packaging. The refresh features familiar Onyx marks, type treatments, and colors, but it also boasts it’s own unique marks. As part of Onyx’s commitment to sustainability, the packaging is fully recyclable, but with thoughtful details, embossing, and a satisfying smooth matte finish, this packaging is one something you might find difficult to discard. Each package features information about the tea’s origin, flavor notes, brewing recipes, and transparency data.

URL: https://onyxcoffeelab.com/collections/tea

Oval Coffee Roaster’s packaging for single origin coffee. A reusable rose gold or burnt umber hinge-top tin containing 150g of whole bean coffee in a sealed biodegradable branded bag.

URL: https://www.oval.nyc

We believe that our packaging should be a reflection of the coffees we source and roast—of the highest quality, clean, and emanating unique character. Our refreshed whole-bean packaging helps differentiate between our ongoing perennial offerings (in the colorful boxes) and our limited-release seasonal offerings (found in the copper-foil, natural brown boxes).

While all coffee is inherently seasonal, our perennial offerings consist of six coffees that we’re proud to be able to serve year-round: our blends, Wallabout and Prospect; our newly named decaffeinated selection, Ravine Decaf; and three relationship coffees that we can keep in ample supply: Colombia La Quebrada, Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Chelbessa, and Guatemala Pulcal. The boxes for these coffees are fully printed, requiring only a small “roasted on” label, meaning less packaging and streamlined production systems for our most popular offerings.

Our seasonal offerings menu reflects a rotating selection of single-origin coffees with smaller or more limited availability. This menu contains familiar names like Colombia Los Angeles, as well as new selections as we continue to develop new sourcing relationships. These coffees are often our premium offerings, featuring special varieties or unique flavor profiles. These coffees are packaged in a natural kraft-brown box that is inlaid with our coffee botanical design in a beautiful copper foil. The botanical illustration has been a throughline of our packaging since our early days roasting and serving coffee in the back of the barbershop.

The clear inner bag in all of our boxes allows the customer to visually connect with the coffee upon opening the box, and features the same floral overlay that is seen on the outer box. The bag and its one-way valve is made from Biotrē 2.0.

For our wholesale partners, we have additionally designed unique tearaway display cases that house six eight-ounce boxes.

This subtle shift is an exciting marker for our team, allowing us to double down on sourcing commitments in regions we’re deeply committed to while still being able to showcase new or limited offerings. We hope that our refreshed packaging helps our customers find even more high-quality coffees to love year-round and encourages them to savor the unique and ephemeral beauty that results from the agricultural process.

URL: https://parlorcoffee.com/pages/shop/#coffee

Our new 12oz coffee bags deliver big nostalgic vibes full of energy and fun. The concept focuses on helping customers connect to coffees they will be wild about. We do this by dividing the coffees into categories PERC calls vibes. The vibes are WILD, BALANCED, and MILD.

Wild coffees come in a pink bag with rock fingers and a panther. They are vibrant and dynamic, making them a hit with adventurous folks looking for nontraditional experiences. Balanced coffees are in yellow bags with a peace sign and a sliced peach. Their evenly structured flavors speak to those who crave harmony in life. Lastly, the Mild bags are blue with a thumbs-up and the PERCtopus (see what we did there? PERC+Octopus). They’re perfect for people who enjoy more traditional coffees. Their smooth and sturdy profile raises the standard of the classic cup.

The bags also have a see-through window. This allows folks to get a look and the beans inside and see the roast profile, further helping them connect with coffee that speaks to them. The bag sides also contain positive affirmations for every drinker: Stay Wild, Be Balanced, or Get Mild.

URL: https://perccoffee.com/pages/bag-design

Philocoffea is a coffee equipment brand founded by Tetsu Kasuya, who won the World Brewers Cup in 2016. The brand is known for its focus on simplicity and quality, reflecting Japanese humble mentality. Tetsu Kasuya’s approach to coffee brewing emphasizes precision and attention to detail, and this philosophy is reflected in the design and functionality of Philocoffea products.

Japanese have the attitude of relentlessly pursuing only quality in a quiet and reserved manner. To reflect this, package doesn’t use much colors and complex design but just simple design.

URL: https://en.philocoffea.com/collections/coffee/products/oo3-ethiopia-tomodachi-world-champion-series?variant=42714135036079

We are officially unveiling our new brand Rare Breed Coffee on October 16th. Originally founded in 2001 as A&E Coffee, Rare Breed is an edgy brand that’s breaking away from the standard approach to specialty coffee. We aim to inspire the rebellious and unapologetic crowd to live life on their own terms. As we boldly proclaim, we are for the primal screamers, after-work artists, accidental entrepreneurs and irreverent storytellers. Our goal is to make specialty coffee more approachable and enjoyable for everyone – without sacrificing quality. No pretension, just great coffee.

Our Rare Breed core series coffee labels feature custom pop-art style illustrations and 100% recyclable metal canisters. The artwork is intended to support both the coffee’s name and character. Our illustrations are intended to be iconic and memorable rather than complex or scenic. We favor images that are quick to “read” and offer some level of the unexpected, be it humorous, rebellious, fun, quirky, irreverent or surreal. Most of our illustrations are two-color duo-tone images, though a few leverage a small spot of a third color, or even a select range of colors working together. The high quality and evocative packaging design invites specialty coffee drinkers to embark on a journey like no other.

We’ve put lots of thought and effort into each of our 20 unique one of a kind label designs, and we’re proud to showcase this groundbreaking collection of coffee can labels that push the boundaries and challenges the status quo of conventional specialty coffee packaging.

URL: https://rarebreedcoffee.com

Wanting to stand out on the shelf led us on a journey of designing our most unique packaging to date. Our friends at The Good Kids are some of the best creators around. They helped us dream up packaging that fit our brand, style and customers. The box here combines our Western theme with musings of American Traditional artwork with a “Where’s Waldo” approach to a few of our inside jokes and team nicknames. We love how the artwork is fun yet rebellious, which we believe is reflective of how we roast our coffees and build our menu. Showing an appreciation for the art without being afraid to bend the rules.

New look, same great coffee. Verve’s redesigned packaging caters to customers by meeting them wherever they might be on their coffee journey, whether a novice just getting into coffee or an expert palette that can call out the most nuanced of notes. Verve updated its product packaging to be more informative, engaging and personalized for their customers, resulting in an effortless purchasing experience. With indicators of roast level, new tasting profiles, color cues and details about origin, Verve’s new packaging has all the info necessary to help customers make their ideal coffee choice.

The packaging’s bright colors, playful designs, tasting notes, roast information and iconography create a customer experience that is easy to navigate while also immersing the customer into Verve’s brand identity and mission. In order to create an informative and seamless experience that allows for an engaging purchasing journey, Verve worked with independent packaging design team Young Jerks to help bring its coffees to life through the rebrand. Verve’s new packaging brings the expertise, attention to detail and knowledge of a barista to every customer interaction, wherever they are. It’s as though each customer has their own personal barista to help guide them!

URL: https://www.vervecoffee.com/

When designing our new whole bean bag we wanted to make sure our customers felt it was worthy of leaving it displayed on the kitchen counter. This design signifies all that we love about coffee and our namesake. We had an illustrator work up a drawing our favorite arabica tree found on Jesus Racinos farm in Mouyata, Guatemala and implemented our Bananaquit bird which is our logo bird and also the USVI territory bird. This bag contains in our humble opinion a total “package” form and function.

URL: https://www.virginislandscoffeeroasters.com/