As consumer demand for cold brew continues to grow, especially among younger generations like Gen Z and millennials, coffee brands should consider offering white label cold brew to satisfy their customers.
White label cold brew refers to a retail-ready product that is produced by a manufacturer to be sold under a client’s branding. It is a common practice in the food and beverage industry, and consumers are increasingly comfortable with both white label and private label products compared to popular brand names.
The practice allows businesses that lack the equipment or expertise required to manufacture a specific product, such as cold brew, to enter nevertheless any market or segment they wish and broaden their range.
Manufacturing high-quality cold brew that is compliant with the relevant food safety regulations applicable in a specific market requires equipment and experience unavailable to most coffee brands due to cost or expertise, so finding the right white label cold brew coffee partner is essential to success.
We spoke to Randy Anderson, chief percolation officer at Cold Percolation, Inc., to learn more about why white-label cold brew coffee is a smart option for coffee brands.
Why look for a white label cold brew coffee partner?
As mentioned, cold brew is a rapidly growing segment of both the coffee and general ready-to-drink (RTD) markets.
A 2023 report from Grand View Research valued the global cold brew market at $506.1m and is expected to triple in value over the next six years to 2030, exceeding $1.5bn.
In Europe, cold brew is the fastest-growing segment of RTD coffee. Much of its growth is credited to cold brew’s distinctive ability to meet consumer demands by combining convenience, health, and flavour.
Within the overall coffee sector, cold brew is consistently identified as a primary consumer trend, growing at rates consistent with plant-based dairy alternatives, sustainability and specialty coffee.
Innovation in the cold brew space is broad and far-reaching, with different technologies, methods and approaches having positive impacts.
“Globally, things seem pretty hot for cold brew. Asia, Europe, and the Middle East are already making big moves,” says Randy.
“Both dispensed cold brew and RTD will be improved by new extraction technologies.”
As a coffee brand in 2024, offering cold brew coffee, whether in an RTD format or dispensed, will help you better meet your existing customers’ demands, convert new ones, and open up further retail and distribution opportunities.
New product development can appear daunting, especially to smaller or new businesses. Still, white label cold brew removes the challenging hurdles of manufacturing and food safety compliance, helping you get to market faster.
How to choose the right white label cold brew coffee partner
The coffee is the centrepiece of any great coffee brand – the entire operation revolves around coffee quality – so the concept of a white label product may seem counterintuitive to some business owners: why trust another business with the cornerstone of your brand?
While it’s a valid concern, some white label cold brew coffee manufacturers have strong coffee credentials themselves. Hardtank, for example, has over 20 years of experience in specialty coffee, and we apply that body of knowledge to our white label manufacturing.
When producing a batch of white-label cold brew, we focus on the technical coffee aspects of the product, ensuring that solubility, extraction ratios, yields, and brewing methods are finely tuned to meet our customers’ expectations.
We also offer a diverse range of white label cold brew products to help our clients stratify their offerings and satisfy as wide a customer base as possible. Our clients can choose from RTD classic nitro cold brew and oat-milk-based caramel lattes to single origin Panama geisha and strawberry hibiscus cold brew tea.
It is crucial that any coffee brand considering a line of white label cold brew coffee partners with a manufacturer with deep coffee expertise. If the quality of your cold brew coffee does not match that of your other coffee products, your consumers will know and lose trust in your brand as a whole.
A diverse product line keeps customers engaged across differing need states, whether they are looking for an indulgent coffee break, a functional kick, or a specialty-grade experience.
“We are seeing more and more brands entering the cold brew space,” says Randy.
“I believe that with new larger facilities, such as the Westrock facility in Arkansas finally coming online, and at least three more facilities in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, more and more doors will be opened for larger brands who could not previously produce shelf-stable products.”
“These facilities are promising FDA compliance, SQF certifications and overall lower costs, which will spur on other producers of shelf-stable RTD products to continue to scale and grow,” he adds.
Access to the best facilities and food safety standards
As mentioned, choosing a white label partner for your cold brew coffee needs gives businesses lacking specific resources access to superior equipment, manufacturing experience and top safety standards.
Hardtank’s cold brew manufacturing facility recently received a Grade A BRCGS Food Safety rating, one of the highest and most widely recognised food safety certifications globally.
For a food production facility to become BRCGS-certified, the manufacturer must demonstrate an unwavering commitment to the highest quality and safety standards founded upon sound HACCP compliance.
Retailers commonly require a BRCGS certification from their suppliers, and many look specifically for the highest rating: Grade A.
By choosing a partner like Hardtank, with the highest BRCGS certification, you are ensuring better access to the top retailers for your white label cold brew coffee line. This will help you expand your retail operations both nationally and internationally (BRCGS is recognised in over 130 different countries).
Beyond safety standards, production terms and scalability are critical to a successful partnership.
Minimum order quantities (MOQs) can be a key barrier to entry for smaller businesses just starting, commonly running to 50,000-plus units per SKU. Instead, coffee brands should look for partners with low initial MOQs and the ability to scale production as their business develops and sales increase.
“Facilities that offer low MOQs will help displaced brands from certain high-profile recalls and closers get back to work and will also prop up the many entrepreneurs that want to get into the marketplace,” Randy says.
Quick turnaround times help coffee brands remain nimble and responsive and better positioned to capitalise on new consumer preferences, seasonal trends or time-specific activation opportunities.
Choose Hardtank for your BRCGS-certified white label cold brew coffee line
In summary, white label cold brew coffee can be a fantastic option for coffee brands looking to capture new audiences, keep up with consumer trends and enter new markets.
The best partners should be flexible and accommodating to your branding requirements. They should offer multiple product types, guarantee the highest quality and safety standards, and provide realistic production terms to help you get started.
At Hardtank, we offer MOQs from just 3,000 units per SKU and turnaround times in less than six weeks. Plus, we are built to scale – our BRCGS-certified production facility can accommodate your increasing volume requirements as you go from strength to strength.
To source your own line of white-label cold-brew coffee, visit our website or contact us directly.
Don’t worry if you missed our recent Cold Brew Masterclass. You can still watch the recording by following the link.
White label cold brew
