the brief

Fieldwork roasts small lots from nine farms in Ethiopia, Colombia and Sumatra, and the range changes almost every month. Their old bags were designed one coffee at a time, which made the shelf look busy and every print run expensive.

the approach

We kept the bag the same for every coffee: an unbleached kraft pouch with a compostable liner and a single label. The label carries the farm, the altitude, the process and the roast date, set in one typeface at two sizes.

Each origin country has its own colour, printed as a solid band along the top of the label. A new coffee only needs new words, which the roasters now write and print themselves on a thermal printer behind the counter.

the outcome

Packaging costs fell by about a third in the first year, and the team can release a new coffee in an afternoon. Three wholesale cafés have since asked to use the system for their own retail shelves.