Everything you need to know for a perfect RTD coffee launch

In this article, you’ll learn:

• Whether your café or roastery is ready for an RTD coffee launch
• How to build an RTD coffee product without compromising on quality
• How to position an RTD coffee launch in a crowded market

Consumer demand for flexibility between on- and off-premise dining hasn’t gone away since the pandemic accelerated it, and coffee is no exception. Drinkers who love your café’s coffee don’t stop wanting it once they’re on the move.

An RTD version meets that on-the-go demand directly, letting you extend your offering beyond the café without changing what makes your coffee good in the first place.

There’s a method to launching one successfully, and much of it comes down to getting the fundamentals right. To let you in on everything you need to know for a perfect RTD coffee launch, I spoke to Freda Yuan, the director of coffee for Origin Coffee, a UK-based speciality coffee roaster which recently launched its own ready-to-drink iced black coffee. Read on for her insights.

Is your café or roastery ready for an RTD coffee launch?

Readiness for an RTD coffee launch starts with the knowledge already built through your on-premise operations. That foundation in formulation and production means the launch is less about starting from scratch and more about extending beyond the café or roastery footprint into the packaged, ready-to-drink format.

According to Freda, this kind of expansion should be first informed by confidence that you can keep your cold coffee beverage just as good, whether it’s in a cup or a can. “Before launching an RTD, a speciality roaster must ask how to expand into an on-the-go format without diluting brand integrity or product quality,” she explains.

For a category that’s already on the rise, RTD can be a strong opportunity for brands with the right product, production setup, and route to market. Lincoln & York recently shared data from client research showing that 80% of younger UK consumers, particularly those aged 25–34, bought RTD coffee in the past year. 40% of buyers purchase these cold beverages on the go, showing just how much convenience matters.

Freda points out that expanding into this niche unlocks opportunities a business could never realise through on-premise dining alone. “A canned RTD breaks down traditional speciality barriers, instantly opening up new customer groups and retail environments beyond a café footprint.”

Even retailers like Tesco have felt the impact. In the two years leading up to 2025, they reported a 20% rise in demand for RTD beverages, selling 40 million more cans to shoppers.

Freda, however, cautions that expanding into this niche should be less about chasing a trend and more about unlocking new reach. “It should feel like a natural progression of your offering – meeting customers during commutes, travel, and outdoor moments – rather than a trend-chasing brand departure.”

How do you build an RTD coffee product without compromising on quality?

Building a quality RTD product starts with making well-informed decisions about the ingredients, including the roast profile, formulation, and extraction method. It also means choosing the right production process, whether in-house or through a co-packer.

“Delivering natural sweetness, clarity, and body without additives relies on selecting green coffees with inherently high quality,” Freda explains, “paired with a bespoke roast profile engineered specifically to unlock natural sweetness.”

Beyond product quality, consumers care just as much about freshness and innovation, so businesses have to embrace strategies such as dynamic sourcing to meet these expectations year-round. It’s a path Origin is already on with their RTD coffee launch. “Our launch lot features a washed Heirloom coffee from smallholder farmers in Sidamo, Ethiopia (1,600–2,100 masl), delivering tasting notes of raspberry, nectarine, and brown sugar,” Freda says.

To bring out the desired flavour profiles in such ingredients, a customised extraction process is required. At their Cornwall brewery, Freda says they utilise a precise 35-minute extraction process, which she says is “far quicker than traditional 24-hour cold brew steeping” and allows them “to capture bright, clean flavours and a smooth body while managing bitterness.”

Cold brew extraction itself is a science. Variables such as steeping time, water temperature, grind size, and coffee-to-water ratio impact the final drink. To Freda, this was the beauty of in-house production. “It gives us total control over quality and consistency across every batch,” she shares.

The alternative to this is working with a private label ready-to-drink coffee producer. To her, this is a matter of how much say the business wants in the RTD coffee production process. “While co-packing can be a great route for initial scale, roasters evaluating the two options should weigh up how much hands-on control they need over post-roast variables,” she advises.

Regardless of the path chosen for your RTD coffee launch, package design should remain simple and adaptable enough to accommodate seasonal releases, particularly for businesses managing dynamic sourcing.

Freda offers an approach she considers effective. “Focus the can design on core brand identity and rely on digital touchpoints – like dynamic live product pages or on-can QR codes – to share seasonal origin updates without constant reprinting runs.”

How do you position an RTD coffee launch in a crowded market?

Positioning an RTD coffee launch means carrying your in-café identity through packaging, campaign narrative, and activations, rather than starting from scratch. If you’ve already built a strong identity and appeal for your freshly served in-café cold coffees, your RTD coffee launch should build directly on that.

As Freda puts it, “Translating speciality credentials into an on-the-go format means treating convenience as an opportunity rather than a compromise.” That thinking shaped their lead campaign narrative for their RTD line.

‘Go Anywhere with Origin,’ as they called it, echoes the trusted identity they’d already built. “The 250ml can is built for movement – from morning commutes to active outdoor routines,” she describes the inspiration behind the narrative.

Their reputation for building clean-label products was reflected in their packaging and informed their decision to target community-facing activations. “We protect brand integrity through a clean two-ingredient label, high-grade coffee,” Freda explains, “and community activations like run clubs and outdoor partner pop-ups.”

This identity needed to remain clear even to customers discovering the brand for the first time off-premise. “Crucially, we kept the can design minimalist and clean, directly reflecting both our core visual identity and the pure product inside,” she explains the design approach they took to realise that.

For a market as competitive as the UK’s RTD coffee space, sometimes you have to go beyond all that and identify a gap that clearly sets you apart. This is especially true for one that already aligns with your existing cold brew offerings, so you’re not starting from scratch.

This was exactly the case for Origin. “While there are many popular sweetened and milk-based RTDs available, we saw a clear opening for a clean, unsweetened Iced Black Coffee that highlights cold brew clarity and high-grade speciality coffee,” Freda says.

Differentiating on all these fronts is a strategy with potential in any market. Since it all comes down to how effective your production process is at delivering quality beverages that can compete, making the right investment matters, whether that is in in-house production or a ready-to-drink coffee producer.

Iced Black Coffee is produced in-house at Origin’s new Cold Brew Brewery in Cornwall, and is available to buy directly from Origin’s website. 

RTD coffee launch: Key takeaways

• A successful RTD coffee launch builds on the formulation and production knowledge already established through on-premise operations, rather than starting from scratch.
• Building a quality RTD product depends on ingredient selection, roast profile, extraction method, and choosing between in-house production or a co-packer.
• Positioning an RTD coffee launch means carrying in-café brand identity through packaging, campaign narrative, and community activations, while identifying a clear gap in the market.

Ready to plan your RTD coffee launch? Hardtank gives roasters the option to bring cold brew production in-house, with equipment designed for controlled, repeatable extraction.

And if you’d rather work with an RTD manufacturer, our private label services handle ingredient sourcing, formulation, and recipe development all the way to branding that truly reflects your identity. Visit our website or schedule a free consultation.

RTD coffee launch: FAQ

What should a speciality roaster consider before an RTD coffee launch?
Readiness starts with confidence that you can expand into an on-the-go format without diluting brand integrity or product quality. That foundation comes from the formulation and production knowledge already built through on-premise operations.

Should you produce RTD coffee in-house or through a co-packer?
In-house production gives full control over quality and consistency across every batch. Co-packing can be a great route for initial scale, so roasters should weigh up how much hands-on control they need over post-roast variables.

How can a brand stand out during an RTD coffee launch in a crowded market?
By identifying a gap that clearly sets the product apart, ideally one that aligns with existing offerings. Origin did this by spotting an opening for a clean, unsweetened Iced Black Coffee in a market dominated by sweetened and milk-based RTDs.

Want to learn more about launching your own RTD coffee?

• Explore Hardtank’s equipment: Discover why roasters choose Hardtank
• Discover private label RTD: Learn about our private label process
• Speak to the team: Get in touch with Hardtank