A white label cold brew coffee partner can transform coffee brands’ operations, whether they are looking to enter the cold coffee segment for the first time or scale up their existing operations. Ultimately, for RTD, manufacturing at scale can be daunting, and to guarantee the best results, expertise and state-of-the-art equipment are essential.
By partnering with the right white label cold brew coffee manufacturer, coffee businesses can leverage their expertise to tackle areas such as sourcing, production capacity, food safety, and branded packaging. This means more time to focus on what matters: reaching new customers
But how do you find the right partner? And what should you look for? We spoke with Greg Dawson, Founder of The Egg Consultancy Dubai, to find out more.
Start with the basics: Look for high-quality coffee
Consumers are more educated than ever, and coffee quality is one of the most important considerations for any business looking to succeed in what is now a highly competitive industry.
“Coffee quality is becoming more important to consumers, and overall, consumers will look for higher quality, sustainable coffee with strong provenance,” says Greg.
In the right context, RTD can perfectly combine two key purchasing drivers – convenience and quality. This means it’s crucial to choose a partner who can get your RTD to market quickly and efficiently while not sacrificing coffee quality.
You should look for a white label cold brew coffee partner with a trusted specialty coffee experience and a wide range of products that cater to your target market’s tastes. For instance, at Hardtank, we offer vegan oat lattes, hibiscus cold brew teas, and functional beverages alongside cold brew coffee.
The very best businesses may offer a custom formula service and alternative service for businesses that already have their own signature blend or collection of coffees and want to market them in an RTD format.
Every factor in the production process, including blend ratio, grind size, brewing temperature, extraction yield, filtration method and water mineral content, is tuned specifically to bring your signature blends to life as premier RTDs.
In summary, the perfect white label cold brew coffee partner should be a coffee expert themselves, open to close collaboration, and flexible and dynamic in their services.
MOQs and capacity when launching a new product
Working with a white label partner is a fantastic and cost-effective way to diversify your product range. However, MOQ and capacity challenges can often be an issue. They can prohibit you from trialling new products or capitalising on rising trends as quickly as you might like.
Large manufacturers typically set minimum order quantities of over 40,000 units, with some asking for as many as 150,000, large or even impossible demands for smaller businesses. In contrast, Hardtank can get your business going from as little as 3,000 units per SKU.
This means that while a smaller partner might suit your order quantities in the early stages of your business, you need to ensure they have the capacity to scale up over time. Otherwise, they may lack the ability to deliver if demand for your products suddenly surges.
At the same time, you want to make sure your partner can offer MOQs suitable for your business to ensure it remains financially viable. Ultimately, the perfect white label cold brew coffee partner should be able to do this while also offering growth and scale as you need it.
Similarly, they may not have the flexibility to pivot and capitalise on time-sensitive opportunities – for instance, if you want to add a new SKU to your range and build out your portfolio over time.
Some suppliers, Hardtank included, can get your product to you with a lead time of less than six weeks, helping you get to market in the perfect window.
“Supplier partnerships and the relationship surrounding the supply and innovation are critical,” Greg notes. “As a buyer, being open to conversations and really listening to what is being offered ensures you’re the first to be offered opportunities. These often can be commercially viable for both parties.”
High-quality, customisable packaging and labelling
Alongside sourcing, production times, collaboration and all the other variables mentioned above, there is another area to consider: branding.
Authenticity and brand storytelling are key to the purchasing behaviour of younger consumers. This is crucial, as Gen Z and millennials are among the largest buyers of cold coffee products, including RTD.
This is especially important to consider when preparing your product range. Your packaging and labelling are the first touchpoints with your audience, and the perfect white label cold brew coffee partner should be able to help you meet their expectations.
You should seek out manufacturers that offer direct design help, like templates for transferring your brand to new formats or flexibility in packaging sizes and volumes.
Some go a step further, supporting you with shipping and logistics offering a one-stop-shop solution to get your products where they need to be.
Microbiological standards should be clearly touted, and you should be clear that your partner has the requisite certifications and quality control measures, such as GFSI, in place to protect your business and reassure your customers that their cold brew is safe and will remain fresher for longer.
Ultimately, the main USP of any white label business is its ability to replicate your brand to the standards you have established already and expect to endure.
“Being seen with the ‘right’ branding can be as important as the contents of the packaging itself,” says Greg. “I expect that materials used and the lifecycle of the packaging will become more integral to consumer choices.”
Packaging and labelling lines are expensive to build in-house, requiring a lot of real estate and expensive specialist equipment. Outsourcing to a white label cold brew coffee partner eliminates the need for any major overhead investment in machinery and leverages better infrastructure and facilities for packing. Altogether, this means better results are delivered more efficiently at scale.
Choose a trustworthy white label cold brew coffee partner
At Hardtank, we’ve been working with roasters and other businesses across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and North America to refine their RTD product lines for 20+ years.
- Super Focus Nitro
- Vegan Caramel Latte
- Tonic Cold Brew
In addition to white label services, we also offer a total custom formula model so you can bring your own signature blends and single origins to the RTD market via our state-of-the-art, BRC-certified facility.
With lower costs and MOQs, we help our clients get to market faster through a collaborative, transparent process that prioritises early-stage accessibility and continued scalable growth as your brand matures.
For more information, visit our website or get in touch with us directly. You can also sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on the latest information.
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