With the popularity of RTD cold brew at an all-time high, there has never been a better time to begin offering it to your customers. However, for many businesses, producing it at scale presents a lot of challenges. 

Working with a professional cold brew coffee manufacturer lowers your unit costs, allows you to get to market quickly, and pivot whenever you need to. It also enables you to scale production quickly and offer a range of different beverages. 

To find out more about the advantages of working with cold brew coffee manufacturers, we spoke with Natalia Biss, an Account Manager and Salesperson for B Wandering. Read on to learn what she had to say. 

Cold brew coffee manufacturers prepare consistently high-quality coffee

Before discussing the preparation and canning of your RTD cold brew, we should first focus on the quality of the coffee itself. 

“Producing high-quality cold brew coffee means using fresh, specialty-grade coffee, and we know how many variables go into that,” Natalia says. 

A cold brew coffee manufacturer with a background in specialty coffee will be able to source high-quality coffee – whether they roast it themselves or not. A significant part of cold brew’s appeal is the smoother flavour and more mellow acidity compared to its hot counterpart. It is crucial that you work with experts who can brew coffee that meets these expectations. 

Additionally, they have the expertise to ensure consistency across every batch. Another challenge for roasters attempting their own cold brew for the first time is maintaining not just the same quality but also flavour and acidity from batch to batch. 

Food safety is also important. For modern hospitality businesses, it is crucial to ensure your coffee meets rigorous health and safety standards. It must be produced and stored under the right conditions to avoid contamination or bacterial growth. Working with a professional cold brew coffee manufacturer allows you to address this simply. 

You can scale production to your needs

Partnering with an external cold brew coffee manufacturer means you can scale production quickly as you need it. 

“You might not necessarily want to or be able to spend money on ordering high volumes of coffee cans,” Natalia says. “The lower the quantity, the higher the cost of your final product.”

The cost of investing in a dedicated canning facility for cold brew is not realistic for many roasters. It may take years to pay off and is only suitable for businesses who have reached a certain size. Furthermore, as your sales increase and demand grows, you will need to expand the facility – a further expense that can be highly disruptive to long-term financial planning. By working with an external partner, you circumvent these issues.

There are also benefits to working with a cold brew coffee manufacturer that offers low minimum order quantities (MOQs). Low MOQs enable you to quickly enter the market with new products and see how customers respond.

“As well as purchasing a production line, you have to invest a lot of time in product development itself,” Natalia says. “It’s the biggest and most important factor that you should consider.” 

This is especially important, as cold coffee’s meteoric growth is being driven by younger consumers who have more specific requirements for their coffee. Combining the versatility of RTD cold brew with low MOQs enables you to quickly produce a variety of beverages that meet several different dietary requirements such as low-calorie, decaffeinated, and gluten-free options. 

You can create bespoke, branded products

Furthermore, cold brew coffee manufacturers can create cans packaged with your branding. 

This gets your logo and marketing directly in front of consumers, which is vital to standing out in an increasingly crowded market. More personal branding is also essential to engaging millennials and Generation Z. These younger consumers are driving the demand for cold brew and are increasingly looking for authentic and unique products. 

If you are also offering a range of different beverages, customising the labels helps each of them to stand out and engage with consumers across different demographics. With so many younger consumers looking for their RTD coffee prepared to their specifications, eye-catching branding is critical in quickly establishing how you meet those specifications. 

For example, Hardtank produces a range of private label products for businesses across Europe. Having already produced award-winning designs, they show the potential for businesses to succeed by partnering with an external supplier. 

Creating a unique RTD product is an opportunity to enter a rapidly growing market. However, it requires serious investment both in time and money. Partnering with a cold brew coffee manufacturer can make it quicker and cheaper for roasters to produce a line of high-quality beverages.

“Starting your own production of RTD cold brew is a huge investment,” Natalia says. “By working with cold brew coffee manufacturers, you can put your budget into increasing your brand awareness and building a customer base. Then once you grow and see potential in volume, you can invest in your production line.” 

At Hardtank, we have been brewing, packaging, and branding cold brew coffee for many different clients for years. We have the facilities, infrastructure, and equipment to deliver consistently excellent beverages branded to your specifications. 

If you’re looking to develop your own branded cold brew range, enquire about our private label services. 

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