You can make out the bold black type and coloured sides a mile off.

It��s certainly true that LDPE allows Rave��s branding to shine.

Our primary checklist was to preserve the quality of the coffee and limit our environmental impact �C which are all there.��

��From a packaging design perspective, it has loads of benefits.

It is a brilliant surface for us to print on �C the quality you can achieve on LDPE is fantastic and it��s got a lovely texture to it.

��There were a lot of factors playing into the decision to use LDPE,�� David says. ��

David explains that, at Rave, the material they found ticked the most boxes was low-density polyethylene (LDPE), a recyclable plastic denoted by plastic resin code #4. They also us ...

This presents a fresh challenge for direct-to-consumer roasters, who must find durable packaging that both protects the coffee during transit and fends off criticism for being �� ...

Even once it has arrived, the package is often squeezed through a letterbox before dropping onto the ground below.

On the journey from roastery to consumer, coffee naturally incurs its fair share of bumps and jolts.

Why LDPE works

Rave coffee bags, Rave coffee packaging, LDPE coffee bags, LDPE coffee packaging, in an article on coffee Bag Design Series and Rave Coffee

��So the numbers are there to help customers identify which coffee they��ve had, while subtly reinforcing the fact that we do a lot of roasting and have a decent-sized selectio ...

��At a minimum, we��re roasting two new coffees every single month,�� he says.

Further promoting this idea is the use of numbers on each tasting card, which David suggests act like ��recipes��.

For some people, they��ve almost become like collectibles.��

They had the dialling in instructions and everything.

��I saw a great photo of someone who had kept the cards on a pinboard,�� he tells me. ��

David says that, for the most part, this has proved a hit with customers.

As you open the card up, there is a detailed description of the farmers themselves and a checkbox section where customers can mark down their own observations about the coffee.

The colours indicate the origin; for example, a red card denotes a Colombian coffee.

Instead, Rave attaches custom colour-coded tasting cards containing information on the roast profile, flavour notes, altitude, and processing method.

With so many coffees coming and going, it isn��t economically viable to produce a bespoke bag for each one.

The only stumbling block to this is cost.

This keeps customers coming back to sample new origins and flavours.

One of the ways to maintain interest, particularly for those who offer subscriptions like Rave, is to have a constant rotation of coffees.

However, it can also make it difficult to not only grab attention, but hold onto customers.

Operating predominantly as an ecommerce website opens up a number of opportunities for roasters.

We need to make it as easy as possible for people to find a coffee they like and ensure they��re able to brew it successfully.��

��That��s where we��re constantly innovating.

We��re always trying to make the website experience as close to a roastery experience as we can,�� David explains.

As a result, their website is one of the most important tools at their disposal �C it��s their ��storefront��, offering potential customers an opportunity to browse options ...

Although Rave��s roastery includes a small caf�� from which they serve coffees, the majority of income is through online, direct-to-consumer sales.

The role of tasting cards

LDPE coffee bags, LDPE coffee packaging, in an article on coffee Bag Design Series and Rave Coffee

We don��t want people to just think ��here��s another specialty coffee brand.����

��Working from branding, I��d rather someone had a strong emotional reaction �C be that love or hate �C and was noticed in some way, rather than being forgettable.

��Part of this is making something memorable, which means using quite a strong, bold brand design that not everyone is going to like.

��We own the space on the bag so it��s important to make it work as hard as possible in the short amount of time that people spend looking at and making decisions about a produ ...

��One of the terms we often use is ��pack-vertising,���� he says.

The agency��s director at the time, David Webb, is now head of brand and marketing at Rave. He explains that as well as positioning the company as approachable, the aim with the ...

With this in mind, Rob and Vikki summoned the help of The Collaborators, a design agency in Bristol, UK.

To do so meant not only avoiding the jargon and buzzwords of the sector, but also designing a coffee bag that differed from what consumers had come to expect.

When Rob and Vikki Hodge launched Rave Coffee in 2011, their aim was always to cut through the specialty coffee market��s air of exclusivity and try to make it as approachable as ...

But, then again, this is precisely the point.

Bold, roaring text on a white background that shouts, ��NO JARGON. NO BS��, surrounded by words annotated with strikethroughs, squiggles, and arrows, is more akin to the work o ...

Rave Coffee��s packaging looks nothing like a specialty coffee brand.

This week, we spoke to UK-based Rave Coffee about how their daring approach to branding has helped set them apart.

Coffee Bag Design Series explores the specialty coffee brands with unique designs that stand out and fire the imagination.

The Coffee Bag Design Series: Rave Coffee