It’s not too often we come across a new coffee offering in a bold, pink box. Denver’s MiddleState Coffee Roasters really went for it: special releases in a can’t-miss-it color that shouts “I’m a special coffee and I like to have fun.” Scott Hill designed the box using strong a typeface and adding playful touches all around. We asked Hill and co-owner Jay DeRose about this fun little number over email.

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As told by Scott Hill and Jay DeRose.

Tell us a bit about your company.

MiddleState started in 2014. We are a wholesale roasting company based out of Denver, Colorado. Since the beginning, it has been pretty simple for us. Buy the best coffee we can that supports the entirety of the chain that is specialty coffee, and have as much fun doing it that we can. We take what we do very serious, but really try not to take ourselves to serious in the process. We like to buy small and very exciting lots of coffee from farmers and producers who we think are doing a great job supporting all hands in the process. – Jay DeRose

When did the coffee package design debut?

The package/coffee debut was right around October 1, 2018. -JD

Who designed the package?

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I’m a minority owner of MiddleState and have been designing and managing the brand since its inception. We were stoked to push the boundaries of what our customers expect from our packaging to make this one a little special. We’re traditionally a brand that is anchored by a stark black and white core brand with pops of color at times. We decided to flip that convention on its head for this package to make it clear that this was an extremely unique moment for our product offering. – Scott Hill

What coffee information do you share on the package?

On the package, we have the roast date, farm information/farmer information, taste notes, varietal, altitude, and the process. Pretty standard in comparison to our other packaging. – JD

Why are aesthetics in coffee packaging so important?

I think that things that are seen as “craft” that have passionate followings are expected to deliver quality at every turn. This means that once a consumer has understood the attention to detail and quality that has gone into a few different coffees, the remaining tie-breaker could be how appealing the packaging is. People willing to spend more of quality coffee want that quality in every facet of the experience. – SH

Where is the bag manufactured?

We produced the custom boxes through Packlane. – SH

What type of package is it?

The coffee is in a clear poly seal bag with a one-way valve and a tin tie. That bag is concealed inside of the thin cardboard box. It’s hard to completely seal a box and put a valve on it. – JD

Where is it currently available?

You can purchase the coffee in our online shop. We had such a small quantity of each coffee that we didn’t want to offer too much of it for wholesale, rather though we wanted to offer it to our lovely consumers. – JD

To learn more, check out Haley Littleton’s 2016 feature on MiddleState Coffee. For even more, check out the 2018 feature about the new MiddleState location.

Company: MiddleState Coffee
Location: Denver, CO
Country: United States
Release Date: October 2018
Designer: Scott Hill

Zachary Carlsen is a co-founder and editor at Sprudge Media Network. Read more Zachary Carlsen on Sprudge.

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