PACKAGING
Black Medicine: Coffee in a Can
Aluminium is an ideal packaging material for preserving and moving beverages.
17 October, 2016
Soda, water, juice, and even coffee can be kept fresh and sold more sustainably using aluminium cans.
Chris Cooper loves coffee. When the tech entrepreneur launched the California-based Black Medicine brand of ready-to-drink cold brew, he put innovation at the heart of what began as just a hobby in 2010. Now Cooper is acting on that spirit of innovation again, as Black Medicine switches from bottles to aluminium can packaging.
As Cooper puts it, there are a few reasons for that change. Probably the most important factor in the decision is that the aluminium cans are more convenient for consumers. Black Medicine is a ready-to-drink (RTD) beverage, but the glass bottles used since the business launched were sealed with a metal cap. It seems an obvious choice, except that customers needed a bottle opener to remove it. That might not a big issue when grabbing a bottle from the refrigerator at home, but it made Black Medicine a little hard to handle when on the go.
As Cooper puts it, there are a few reasons for that change. Probably the most important factor in the decision is that the aluminium cans are more convenient for consumers. Black Medicine is a ready-to-drink (RTD) beverage, but the glass bottles used since the business launched were sealed with a metal cap. It seems an obvious choice, except that customers needed a bottle opener to remove it. That might not a big issue when grabbing a bottle from the refrigerator at home, but it made Black Medicine a little hard to handle when on the go.
Cooper wanted to see portability improved with a more user-friendly aluminium can designed for the commute to work or the local park. As it so happens, lightweight, easy-to-open, and less fragile cans deliver new options for Black Medicine's fans.
Image: Black Medicine
Image: Black Medicine
At the same time, Black Medicine's quality and taste needed to be preserved. Cooper uses a proprietary process in which the fresh roasted coffee is hot brewed first. The coffee's taste comes from a blend of African and Latin American beans, although Cooper is open to using beans from all over the world so long as they deliver on quality. After the coffee is hot brewed, it is then cold pressed under oxygen-free pressure, which allows for a fuller extraction from the coffee. The result is an intensely bold coffee that is 50 percent stronger than other coffees – with 50 percent more caffeine – and a touch of Vitamin C too.
Given the craft-brew intensity of the Black Medicine business, it only made sense for Cooper to choose packaging that would protect the cold pressed coffee. The aluminium will have no effect on the coffee experience – Cooper describes the coffee profile as fruit forward and lightly roasted – for consumers who want the robust taste of Black Medicine, but it will make it easier for them to enjoy it.
Given the craft-brew intensity of the Black Medicine business, it only made sense for Cooper to choose packaging that would protect the cold pressed coffee. The aluminium will have no effect on the coffee experience – Cooper describes the coffee profile as fruit forward and lightly roasted – for consumers who want the robust taste of Black Medicine, but it will make it easier for them to enjoy it.
The switch to aluminium will also make it easier to enjoy Black Medicine at a lower price too. Black Medicine will reduce pricing in line with lower packaging costs, and plans to pass those savings along. Customers can expect an average drop of about 12 percent per unit compared with the former retail prices.
An added benefit is an improved commitment to the sustainability that already features in Black Medicine's supply chain. The coffee itself is brewed from high-quality beans that, in general, are organically grown within a fair trade framework, although some Black Medicine suppliers simply can't afford an organic certification process.
The switch to aluminium cans continues the company's commitment to the environment, since the cans are easily recyclable and people are more likely to recycle those cans over bottles or plastic containers.
The switch to aluminium cans continues the company's commitment to the environment, since the cans are easily recyclable and people are more likely to recycle those cans over bottles or plastic containers.
(Image: Beverage Daily)
The cans themselves typically have more recycled content in them when manufactured – on average, 70 percent, according to Beverage Daily – which more than triples the amount of recycled materials in glass or plastic packaging alternatives. The aluminium can also has shorter production time lines, and will hold up better at Black Medicine's 1,672 square meter facility. There is less breakage and associated loss in transportation and at the retail destination, and they are significantly lighter to move there.
Taken together, Black Medicine's switch to aluminium is more than just good business or a sound strategy for the environment: Cooper's decision is based on delivering good coffee.
Taken together, Black Medicine's switch to aluminium is more than just good business or a sound strategy for the environment: Cooper's decision is based on delivering good coffee.
Banner image: Sprudge