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tailoring it based on the brand’s positioning and person-
ality, according to Yin. Once the primary color has been
decided, the designers have to repeat the comparison of
the rationality of the main color and auxiliary color col-
location to reach harmony. The color also needs to be
tested on the color cards and the actual packaging to
ensure they align in the real world. Finally, the colorful
packaging is ready to rock the consumers.
By using the right colors, specialty coffee brands
can set themselves apart from the rest of the market. The
colors can also be the messenger to deliver brand concepts
Coffee Roasters which has been in the industry for 20
to their consumers without rolling out all the tirades.
years, Hasbean has one of the largest ranges of single
Also, for some specialty coffee brands with a range of
origins. For the rebranding, in-house designers Ed Hughes
flavors, colors can be the labels for flavor notes. It would
and Fran Newman-Day want the new packaging to be
make the specialty coffee more down-to-earth and easier
more accessible to their consumers.
to approach by the new consumers. Even though coffee
“Specialty coffee can sometimes be a confusing
is all about taste and smell, colors help communicate it
place, especially for newcomers, and Hasbean has always
through visuals.
been about making great specialty coffee accessible to
As specialty coffee marketing expands, the visual
everyone. As we have one of the largest ranges of single
presentation of coffee will inevitably become more im-
origins, we wanted our customers to be able to quickly
portant in the future. Colors will keep on playing a piv-
and easily break down the range into different flavor
otal role in coffee packaging. Yin thinks that we will see
profiles. For us, color does this really effectively,” said
more diverse coffee packaging in the future. The use of
Ed Hughes.
color and visual effects will be more experimental to draw
Starting off by conversing with the roastery team to
younger consumers’ attention. So, next time you shop
single out what the different profiles might be; the team
online for specialty coffee, be prepared for a more diverse
has eventually broken it into Sweet, Cocoa, Spicy, Fruity,
colorful world of coffee presentations ahead.
Floral, Nutty, and Citrus plus Decaf. From there, each
profile has been assigned a different color by the design-
ers, according to the best representation of how these
coffees would taste. For example, yellow matches citrus,
while gray represents nutty flavors. The designers also
added ample space for an expanded flavor profile descrip-
tion. This was written by the roastery team, and included
information such as “floral notes” and “white sugar gives consumers a tangible link between the color and the
sweetness”. The aim was to explain the flavor notes bet- brand, like Starbucks. Other times, it can be a comple-
ter and avoid any confusion. All the effort on the pack- mentary color, which may convey a set of different fea-
aging is meant to make the products more “user-friendly”. tures about the brand, and form a united personality.
Eventually, with the help of Pantone-inspired colors For the Hasbean packaging, the designers’ aim was
and flavor descriptors, consumers can instantly differen- to find different colors for individual flavor profiles while
tiate flavors by its visuals. Hughes told us: “We wanted simultaneously keeping all the colors harmoniously for
people to get a steer on a coffee’s flavor before they’ve one theme. During the six-month creative process, one
opened the bag. We were focused more on how the labels of the biggest challenges for the Hasbean designers is to
differentiate the coffees from one another. That was the get all the colors to work together. The team has spent a
main focus.” long time doing many print tests to make sure each color
However, finding the right color palette is not that sat well next to the other and reproduced well digitally
easy. Moreover, many practical factors have to be consid- and physically. This is hard, especially when the team is All the effort on the
ered during the actual design process, such as the costs meant to develop a large color palette. It takes a lot of
and materials. For most coffee packaging design that practice and experiments. packaging is meant to
focuses on colors, the quest usually starts with seeking Nevertheless, no matter what color strategies have
the color that is in line with the brand positioning. This been approached, the goal is to differentiate the brand in make the products
process requires the designers to have a deep understand- the market. To be noticed, differentiation doesn’t mean more “user-friendly”.
ing of a brand. Sometimes, it can be one simple color that finding a color that has not been used by other brands but

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