Sisters Coffee Company out of Sisters, Oregon—about two hours southeast of Portland, in the beautiful central Oregon mountains—just launched a fresh brand redesign in September 2024. It took the team a little over a year from idea to finished product and was, to be sure, a collaborative effort. We spoke with Sisters Coffee Company CSO and Co-Owner Jesse Durham to learn more about the process, the people, and their favorite design details in the final package.
What was the core inspiration behind this design?
The core inspiration for our packaging is the beautiful Three Sisters mountain backdrop that we see in Sisters, Oregon everyday. We wanted a design that felt ownable and authentic, which can be hard to do with so many amazing coffee brands out there. After a lot of contemplation, I kept coming back to the idea of the mountains that we grew up with and love so much, and how the word “Sisters” is in our name brand. Sharing this beautiful mountainscape that is right outside our roastery and flagship cafe felt like the most genuine and honest way of expressing our brand.
Who designed it?
It was a group effort in so many ways. I came up with the initial concept of using parts of the mountain range on each bag, and upon lining the bags up side by side they create the entire mountain range, as seen from Sisters, Oregon. I drew up a rough sketch in Illustrator and sent it to Flask, the creative agency who helped us update our brand identity. They did a wonderful job in assisting me with design layout, font selection, color selection etc.
How does collaboration play a role in your design process?
I could not have gotten this design across the finish line without the help of so many talented individuals, many of whom are my co-workers at the roastery. First with my brothers, Justin and Jared—we are a sibling-owned and operated business, and the three of us (with Flask’s help!) designed our new logo which we’re tremendously proud of. Second with our team—they were always willing to offer their creative critique and support. We are very fortunate to have numerous leaders in our company who have worked at Sisters Coffee a long time—they know our brand well and always lent a creative ear as the design progressed. I’m very thankful to have had them as a sounding board.
Flask was wonderful to work with as well—they provided loads of design and branding expertise that helped elevate the design itself.
From first vision to final product, how long did the design process take?
We made the decision to redesign our bags in the summer of 2023, and we launched the new bags in September of 2024, so just over a year. We took our time with the project—we wanted to get it right and were willing to wait until we felt confident about the design.
When did it launch?
We launched on September 6th, 2024! It’s been a very celebratory couple of weeks and it feels very rewarding to finally be able to share the packaging with our community, customers, and friends.
How does the package design reflect the company’s overall branding and messaging?
Sisters Coffee was founded by our parents in 1989. We’re a second generation, family-owned business that is warm and yet scrappy. Our coffees are accessible—we feature very high-end microlots right next to some of our flagship blends that we’ve had for the past 35 years—in that regard we like to ensure that we have a coffee for everyone who comes into our cafes, no matter what you are looking for. Above all, Sisters Coffee loves to create connection through whole-hearted hospitality and kindness. Sisters, Oregon is like that too, and I can think of no better artistic expression of that message than the lovely mountains we call home.
Tell us about some of your favorite design details.
By far, my favorite design detail is that when you line up all seven bags in order, they create the landscape as seen from Sisters. I hope customers will try it! In order from left to right they should be placed as follows: French Roast, High Desert Sunrise, Espresso Blend, Sisters Blend, Jack Creek Cold Brew, Black Butte Gold Decaf, Black Butte Gold.
I also really like the mountain silhouette on the label—somehow this extra little detail illustrates the amount of intention and care we invested into the design.
Are there key elements of the packaging meant to educate the consumer?
Not anything that is particularly noteworthy or unique from what other roasters are doing. I mean of course we have tasting notes, roast level and origin info on our bags—those are important details that help a customer make an informed purchase. But more than anything this was a heart-motivated project that was meant to capture the warm, inviting spirit that makes Sisters Coffee so special.
I will say that when I attended Dr. Fabiana Carvalho’s class (at SCA Expo in 2023) on how packaging influences consumer behavior and perception of coffee quality, I learned the importance of clearly displaying the roast level on the bag. Her class made an impression on me, and I was sure to make the roast level prominent on the label of each bag.
Is the design optimized for shelf presence? How does it aim to stand out?
Yes, I hope so! Grocery is an important sales channel for us, so I spend a lot of time studying the coffee aisle. When deciding on a direction for the design, I cross-referenced it with the coffee shelf to make sure that my design was unique from other coffee brands. The mountain range, sunset, and overall color palette of our packaging feels original, and I have yet to see packaging that creates a landscape when all bags are lined up together.
Are any of the packaging materials recyclable or compostable?
We had been using the Biotre bag, but with this new packaging have made the switch to post consumer recycled material, which feels good to know that we’re reusing packaging instead of using brand new raw materials.
Where is this available to purchase?
You can find Sisters Coffee at most grocery stores in Oregon and Washington, and we’re also in Nugget’s Markets in the Bay Area. You can also buy our coffee online at sisterscoffee.com, or, best of all, we would love to serve you at one of our cafes in Sisters, Bend, or Portland, Oregon.
Visit Sisters Coffee official website. Follow Sisters Coffee on Instagram @sisterscoffee.
Photos courtesy Sisters Coffee by Lauren Svatos, Tyler Roemer.
Coffee Design is an original feature series on Sprudge curated by Sprudge co-founder Zachary Carlsen. Read more from our Coffee Design archives.
