By serving or packaging RTD nitro coffee, coffee businesses can leverage the versatility of cold brew and use it to create many more beverage types, keeping customers engaged and loyal. 

Maintaining a loyal customer base is essential to success. Still, in an increasingly competitive marketplace, both on the shelf and the high street, key consumer trends need to be appreciated and catered for. 

Alongside a drive for products that tout health and wellness benefits, specialty coffee credentials, and convenience packaging formats, menu diversity is more important than ever. 

We spoke to Paolo Abiog, a coffee business consultant at Visasq Coleman, to learn more about cold brew and RTD trends and how businesses can stay ahead of their game.

Draught-poured nitro coffee in a glass

What is nitro coffee, and how does it help businesses diversify their offerings?

Nitro coffee is produced by infusing cold brew coffee with nitrogen to create an alternative texture, one that is richer and creamier and offers a smoother mouthfeel. Akin to a pint of Guinness, nitrogen infusion creates a more indulgent beverage experience for the consumer without the need for additional flavourings or sweeteners. 

In the cafe, nitro coffee can be served via a nitrogen draught system and dispensing tap, poured like a bartender would pour a glass of beer. Cold brew coffee is drawn through a chilled tap system directly from a keg and forced, along with nitrogen, through tiny holes in the tap, creating the foamy head and the cascading effect. 

Nitro coffee is incredibly convenient as a café menu option. Cold brew can be stored safely in bulk batches and then dispensed on demand through a tap system. Some commercial cold brew machines, like Hardtank 1T and 2T, come with built-in nitrogen taps, offering coffee businesses a 360-degree nitro coffee solution where they have complete control of the whole process. 

RTD nitro coffee is made differently. Instead of a draught system, it gets its bubbly, foamy texture from liquid nitrogen dosing. Once the aluminium cans have been filled, a dose of liquid nitrogen is added before the can is sealed, locking in the texture until the beverage is consumed. 

This article provides an in-depth look at how to create your own line of RTD nitro coffee. 

Whether serving in-store or distributing for grocery retail, coffee businesses should note the simplicity nitro coffee brings to menu diversification. For those sourcing RTD nitro coffee, a trusted private-label RTD partner like Hardtank can build a whole privately branded product line on your behalf. 

For customer-facing businesses serving coffee, commercial cold brew coffee makers with nitro-taps built in are not as financially impactful as you might think – they will actually help you improve your margins.  

Hardtank team with RTD nitro coffee samples

Just how important is adding RTD nitro coffee to your portfolio?

“Consumers are getting into convenient food and beverage products in a big way,” says Paolo. 

“Cold brew coffee is no exemption. Based on market research from different parts of the globe, consumers are still sensitive about price over value of their purchase, especially in current economic climates where a lot of instability is still occurring. Product availability and convenience are really important in their location.

“I believe RTD cold brew coffee beverages can help close the gap between price and quality. The younger generation of consumers is becoming more aware of the natural flavours of various coffee beans and is, at the same time, looking for products that can be quickly grabbed from a shelf.

“RTD cold brew coffee beverages are not singularly seen as sweet, sugary drinks, associated with indulgent additives like chocolate, caramel, vanilla, etc. Modern technology allows variation to exhibit the natural flavours of coffee, where consumers can select based on quality and not just added flavours.

As Paolo points out, the improvement in cold brew techniques and equipment has improved the end product, doing a superior job of helping the coffee itself shine through. Since cold brew is naturally less acidic, less better, and more mellow in flavour profile compared to traditional brewing methods, it’s more palatable straight-up. 

Nitro coffee takes these innovations a step further, offering consumers looking for a more indulgent experience than perhaps regular cold brew provides, without added sugars, syrups or other artificial flavour enhancements.

Yellow flat white nitro coffee

How can RTD nitro coffee be customised further?

To many, RTD nitro coffee is already an indulgent beverage. Its popularity stems from its ability to appeal to demands for beverage variety and its compatibility with health and wellness trends more broadly. 

Without becoming a sugar-laden beverage, RTD nitro coffee can be easily customised to build out a menu or product portfolio with more compelling options.

For example, cold brew can be combined with non-dairy oat milk before being dosed with liquid nitrogen and canned as a plant-based nitro flat white. Lower-calorie dairy or non-dairy substitutes can instead help create light vegan lattes. 

At Hardtank, we offer our private label cold brew coffee clients Extra Kick and Super Focus Nitro products made with a nitrogen-infused cold brew that is naturally higher in caffeine. Added L-theanine creates more functional-led products that appeal to the busy, health-conscious lifestyles of Millenials and Gen Zers

To appeal to consumers with a sweeter tooth, a smaller amount of flavoured syrup is required to create a more indulgent RTD nitro coffee. Thanks to the mellower flavour of cold brew coffee, the added flavourings don’t require as much volume to cut through. 

For coffee companies really looking to get ahead of the curve and innovate, we offer canned nitro craft ice tea, strawberry hibiscus tea, and tonic cold brews too. 

If you’re looking for attention-capturing ways to convert new customers, drive innovation in your local coffee space, or offer a more compelling portfolio to large retailers, Hardtank offers ten different RTD nitro coffee variations to be privately branded according to your aesthetic and brand story. 

We were recently awarded a BRCGS Food Safety Grade A certification for our production facility, which helps us ensure your RTD nitro coffee products are the safest on the market. Plus, we independently test every batch we produce, just to make doubly sure. 

To source your own private line of RTD nitro coffee, visit our website or contact us directly. 

You can still catch a recording of our recent Cold Brew Masterclass by following the link.

RTD nitro coffee