SOLUTIONS
Beverages
Westrock Coffee Co., which provides coffee under the Westrock Coffee name and various store brands, is promising to responsibly source 100% of its coffee and tea by 2025.
Solutions for the “Better”
With more shoppers seeking better-for-you and better-for-the-planet consumable products, coffee CPGs and grocers are delivering on those twin demands. For example, interest in enhanced beverages for health, wellness and, in the wake of the pandemic, immunity, are spurring the rollout of coffee products that fit that profile. The Super Coffee brand, for example, offers items like a ground dark roast enhanced with antioxidants, vitamins and I-theanine. VitaCup makes a Slim coffee enhanced with garcinia, ginseng and B vitamins, and a keto-friendly Genius coffee fortified with MCT oil, turmeric and B vitamins deemed helpful for brain health. Although coffee made from beans is inherently plant-based,
As consumer clamor continues for all things pumpkin spice and other fall flavors, Starbucks has expanded its retail offerings and merchandising support this year.
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some coffee makers are adding other or different plant-based ingredients. For instance, Laird Superfood offers a line of functional coffees made from mushrooms, like its Focus medium roast made with mushroom extracts and botanical adaptogens, and its Boost variety, also made with mushroom extracts and botanicals, along with added vitamin D. In addition to varieties that appeal to wellness-minded consumers who want some kind of “plus” in their coffee drinks, retailers’ coffee shelves are lined with more products that fall under the responsibility umbrella. From an environmental perspective, although sustainably sourced and organic coffees aren’t new, there are more of them, from brands like Ethical Bean Coffee, Chameleon Organic, Meritage Coffee, Mount Hagen and Newman’s Own, to name just a few. Often, the packaging aligns with the mission: Mount Hagen coffees, for example, are sold in recyclable glass jars and single-serve sticks. A new entry in the field is Atomo Coffee, the first molecular coffee company on the market, with a cold-brew ready-to-drink coffee made in a way that results in 93% less carbon emission and 94% less water than traditional coffee. Produced without coffee beans and using upcycled ingredients, Atomo’s product line includes a classic dark roast and an ultra-smooth roast. Fair trade coffees, which also tend to be organic or made in a sustainable way, are another way for grocers to add responsibly sourced SKUs at a time when more shoppers are seeking information about the products they buy. The CVS chain, for example, has added Fair Trade Certified coffees to its Gold Emblem grocery brand, with sales benefiting coffee producers through community development funds.
