Pachamama Coffee is redefining sustainability in coffee. As a 100% farmer-owned cooperative, it represents over 400,000 growers across Africa, Latin America, and Mexico. It delivers high-quality, organic coffee, roasted in California, and sold directly to consumers through its cafés, website, and grocery stores. By eliminating the “middleman,” Pachamama Coffee allows farmers to set their own prices while advancing its mission to deliver the highest quality organic coffee in a sustainable way.
As part of that mission, Pachamama embarked on a rebrand of its 10-ounce and two-pound coffee bags, seeking eco-friendly packaging to give its customers a deeper, more tangible connection to its values.
“Today’s consumers expect the best, starting with packaging that looks and feels environmentally friendly. The coffee industry is highly competitive, and the stakes are high when you go through a rebrand. Therefore, we also knew our packaging had to be not only sustainable but also reliable,” said Thaleon Tremain, Co-founder and CEO of Pachamama Coffee.
“We turned to TricorBraun Flex to help us deliver a solution that matched our product and told our story—because we aim to be the leader in sustainably sourced and packaged coffee.”
TricorBraun Flex recommended Biotrē™ 2.0, a flexible packaging film made from plant-based, renewable, and compostable resources. Biotrē 2.0 is 60% compostable, and the outer layers consist of natural kraft paper and cellulose made from wood pulp.
“Without question, we determined TricorBraun Flex’s Biotrē 2.0 was the best and most reliable solution for our product,” said Tremain.
Telling the Farmers’ Stories Through Custom-Printed Packaging Design
Pachamama Coffee took a unique approach by involving its farmers in the packaging design process. Each coffee bag features its own specialty artwork that highlights the individual growers. While Pachamama’s in-house artists had experience with label design, creating original artwork for coffee bags was new territory. Therefore, the brand enlisted TricorBraun Flex to help transform those meaningful designs into print-ready packaging.
“In addition to the custom artwork, the specific shade of green Pachamama Coffee wanted was critical to the overall look and feel of the packaging,” said Tricia Beck, Packaging Consultant, TricorBraun Flex. “Since colors can shift significantly depending on the material, our Graphics Coordination Team provided multiple ink drawdowns to test how it appeared on the actual packaging. It was important to fine-tune until we achieved the exact shade.”
Tremain added that TricorBraun Flex was invaluable in guiding Pachamama Coffee through the complexities of custom-designed packaging: “They made the entire process so easy, answering all our questions and working closely with us every step of the way. From getting the individual artwork and sizing just right to providing tear sheet samples, they confirmed accuracy before we moved into printing and production.”
Meeting Consumer Demand for Coffee Without Disruption
To keep up with demand for its top-selling 10-ounce coffee bags, Pachamama Coffee also needed a partner to help maintain supply continuity. TricorBraun Flex delivered with a flexible warehousing and inventory management program so that Pachamama has its bags readily available.
“When it comes to lead times and warehousing, you must plan carefully and rely on your vendors to deliver on time. Running out of coffee bags can mean losing customers and business—the supply chain simply can’t be disrupted,” said Tremain. “We don’t have the space to store hundreds of thousands of bags, so TricorBraun Flex warehouses the inventory and releases it as needed. They’ve even gone the extra step to airship bags multiple times to our facility to keep everything moving until our larger boat shipments arrive.”
Sustainable Packaging Rebrand Sparks Emotion and Success
According to Tremain, consumers have said how much they love the new packaging, especially the authentic feel and genuine quality, which “has played a key role in driving demand and getting Pachamama Coffee on more retail shelves.”
“When I think about the launch, I immediately recall the emotional response from the farmers, our employees, and customers when they first saw the packaging,” said Tremain. “It was a huge boost to our company’s morale, and TricorBraun Flex’s consistent support and expertise at every stage played a major role in helping us reach success.”
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