This week on Coffee Design we’re taking a look at the new design at Loom Coffee Co. out of Greensboro, North Carolina. Loom launched nearly four years ago in 2020 and worked in-house to create a fresh, new look with a focus on environmental impact. “The final bag design is the result of several months of ideation, iteration, and integrating the preferences of our customers and cafe partners,” explains founder Christopher Pierce.
We spoke with Christopher Pierce digitally to learn more.
Who designed the packaging?
The new look was created in-house by our Head of Design & Creative Vision, Andrew Duke (@the_oddest), with some creative input from myself. Andrew came to our team in late 2022 with a pedigree of branding and design work to his name, having done print and logo design in his own studio practice for nearly a decade.
The motifs featured on the new bags are an elaboration on our original branding, which was created back in 2020 by Malvika Ruparel of Erth Co. (@erthco.in).
When did the new design launch?
The newly designed Biotrē bags launched in early November 2023.
What were some of the goals for the new look?
Considerations for the new bag design were not only aesthetics but a response to the concerns of our customers and cafe partners about the coffee industry’s impact on the environment. A lot of our customers are weekly coffee subscribers, and they’d save our coffee bags and return them to us for recycling, or otherwise voice their concern about packaging waste.
By offering larger bag sizes and switching to the eco-conscious Biotrē material, we’re able to reduce our non-biodegradable packaging waste by about 80%.
From a visual standpoint, we tried to speak to that ethos through the graphic design—clean and lively, an adaptable look that’ll look great on your countertop or the retail shelves of our cafe partners.
Tell us about some of the details in the design
The design includes some of our signature brand marks and a nod to our area’s regional heritage with the textile industry. Our namesake is an important piece of textile manufacturing equipment—the loom weaves together threads to create a fabric that’s stronger than its individual parts. With our design and branding, we draw a metaphor to the many stories contained in coffee—from the lives of farmers at origin, the distance the coffee travels to arrive in your cup, to your own story as a coffee lover. These stories are woven into a tapestry of cooperation that is the coffee community.
What kind of materials are used in the new packaging?
The new bags are made from Biotrē—an eco-friendly packaging material from TricorBraun Flex. Biotrē is natural Kraft paper with a wood pulp-based barrier layer and an interior oxo-degradable polyethylene “PE” layer.
The outer layers consist of natural kraft paper and cellulose from wood pulp. These plant-based, renewable materials make up 60% of the material by weight and have been shown to break down into healthy compost in 12 weeks/90 days. The interior layer is made with an additive that makes it “oxo-degrade”. This additive allows plastic to break into microscopic pieces under specific conditions over five to 10 years versus the estimated 1,000 years needed for normal plastic.
Compared to our flagship 8 oz. bags, this switch to Biotrē™ for 12 oz. and 1 lb. bags represents an 80% reduction in non-biodegradable waste.
Where is this available to purchase?
The new bags are available for both one-time and subscription purchase on our website, and can even be purchased as a prepaid gift subscription during the holiday gifting season.
For coffee lovers local to the Piedmont-Triad of North Carolina, you can also find our beans at Borough Coffee (@boroughcoffeegso) and the renowned Black Magnolia Southern Patisserie (@blackmagnoliagso).
Thank you.
Coffee Design is a feature series on Sprudge by Zachary Carlsen. Read more Coffee Design on Sprudge.
