Is instant coffee finally having its moment?
By the numbers, it wouldn’t appear to be so. Sales of instant flavored coffee declined 4.4% year-over-year through January, according to SPINS, while instant plain coffee fell 5.4%. Meanwhile, refrigerated (18.9%) and shelf-stable (29.3%) cold brew each expanded by double-digits. Add that on to an expanding ready-to-drink set and conveniences like mobile ordering apps at cafes, and getting a quick cup of coffee has never appeared to be simpler.
Yet, as we’ve previously reported, a new generation of innovative start-ups are attempting to change the category’s trajectory with versatile, premium products that appeal to young consumers who grew up alongside the third-wave coffee movement. By focusing on aspects like craft, convenience and culture, instant coffee might finally become cool.
In late December, 18-year-old vlogger Emma Chamberlain announced the launch of her own instant coffee, called Chamberlain Coffee. Professing that she’s “always been obsessed with coffee,” she declared her new product — produced in collaboration with Steeped Coffee — would address her frustration with the lack of convenient, high quality options on the market. “I’m sick of dealing with machines, pods or extra plastic packaging crap,” she wrote. “It’s such a waste, and the flavor isn’t great.”
Whatever you may think of the value of social media influencers, numbers don’t lie: Chamberlain has over 16 million-plus followers on YouTube and Instagram, and her new coffee brand has already amassed more than 125,000 followers on the latter platform in under two months. And, like her, some of those followers may be ready to view instant products in a more positive light.
Chamberlain Coffee is produced in partnership with Steeped Coffee, a California-based brand which makes single-serve ground coffee bags that can be prepared either hot or cold. The company markets products under its own brand mark, but has more recently sought to collaborate with specialty roasters through licensing agreements for its patented steeping system. Besides Chamberlain, Steeped has partnerships with 75 roasters around the country, including Counter Culture and Cat & Cloud.
Getting the support of coffee professionals and third-wave cafes — not to mention social influencers like Chamberlain — has been key in changing consumer attitudes towards a product like Steeped. At Counter Culture, Steeped’s process was praised for producing “a cup that is nearly indistinguishable from traditionally brewed coffee—and that really excites us.”
“To align with a globally recognized roaster with a reputation for quality like Counter Culture, and to be a leading pioneer in the third wave space to transform how people view single-serve was a match made in heaven for me,” Wilbur said.
Yet — as Chamberlain cited — Steeped’s fully compostable packaging and ease-of-use may be more significant factors for young consumers in particular. On its website, Nossa Familia Coffee writes that, in addition to the convenience, it is proud to work with Steeped “because they are a B Corp like us, and spent years on R&D figuring out eco-friendly packaging.”
Overall category declines for instant coffee have not dissuaded specialty and third-wave coffee brands from getting involved. In 2018, Chicago-based Intelligentsia Coffee launched its Illumination Blend as a freeze-dried instant coffee in collaboration with Sudden. Having helped seed Oatly’s U.S. presence by serving it at its cafes, Intelligentsia, a division of international conglomerate JAB Holdings, is hoping to enjoy similar success in shifting consumer behavior with its instant product.
“One of the biggest things is that it is not replacing people’s morning coffee as much as I would have thought,” said Bailey Manson, innovation manager at Intelligentsia. “I would have thought people would give up some of the coffee shop experience for the convenience of instant. But what’s actually happening is people are still going through their morning routine, but this works as their third or fourth coffee later in the day.”
As interest in the format grows, there’s also potential to bring trends present elsewhere in coffee — such as non-dairy milks and functional ingredients — into instant. In November, Intelligentsia introduced Black Cat Instant Almond Milk Latte, made in collaboration with GoodMylk, which Manson described as an expensive-to-produce “test case” to evaluate consumer demand for instant lattes before the company decides whether to commit to expanding the line.
“It allows access to a different flavor profile — this is more rich, more caramel and chocolate [than Illumination],” he said. “I’m curious about how people might use it. Some people might get it and just mix it up at single strength, as an Americano. Maybe it’s a gateway for someone to add a little bit of water and then add their own alternative milk.”
For Verve Coffee Roasters, instant product is one of several paths the company is taking to expand beyond whole bean coffee and retail cafes. The Santa Cruz-based brand, in collaboration with Swift Cup Coffee, launched Instant Craft Coffees last year and recently added new single origin, blend and decaf varieties. In addition to Verve’s website and cafe locations, the product is available at buzzy online retailers like Thrive Market and Huckberry, underscoring the brand’s connection with consumers pursuing an “on-the go, adventurous lifestyle,” according to co-founder Ryan O’Donovan. If a premium instant product can offer consumers a respectable recreation of the in-store coffee experience, the company has found, it sells itself.
“The customer adoption for Instant Craft Coffee has gone much easier and more naturally than we initially anticipated,” said O’Donovan. “Our customers are keeping Instant Coffee on hand in addition to whole bean and Flash Brew, rather than instead of.”
Advances in technology can help bring more coffee to more people, but it doesn’t change what goes into each cup. As more consumers are introduced to premium instant coffees, manufacturers are growing the tent to include both high-profile roasters and small-scale operations.
For Sudden, tech upgrades on the backend have allowed it to shift gears from a strategic perspective. The company initially launched under its own brand mark, then began collaborating with individual specialty roasters to produce products that it sold via its online store. Over the past year, manufacturing and processing improvements have enabled Sudden to cut costs in half, allowing them to take on more. The company currently lists 20 partners on its website, including Ritual Coffee and Cuvee Coffee.
Perhaps more importantly, the company can now economically produce in small batches, a critical step in bringing boutique small-batch roasters into the category.
“If you look at the traditional instant coffees, the minimum batch size is 10,000 lbs. of roasted beans,” said Sudden co-founder and CEO Josh Zloof. “A lot of times specialty coffee might cost $15 per pound; 10,000 lbs. is $150,000 in product. Figuring out a way to do it at a much smaller scale, that sort of also enabled us to do single origins and other really unique coffees.”
Having discontinued its own branded line, Sudden is on the hunt for more partners like San Diego-based Mostra Coffee, a family-run operation which was named Roast Magazine’s 2019 Microroaster of the Year award in October and is launching its first instant product through Sudden this month. Through the addition of specialty roasters like Mostra, which produces less than 65,000 lbs. of coffee annually, helps bring sophistication and credibility to the instant category. Head roaster Nick Berardi told BevNET the brand recognized the format as an opportunity to upend preconceived notions about coffee drinkers.
“Often times when I’m talking to people about coffee, I always bring up the fact that there’s a whole spectrum of coffee drinkers,” he said. “We’re trying to cater to a well-rounded coffee drinker, not just a niche coffee drinker.”
Mostra’s specialty is rare and unique Phillippine coffees, but, for its first instant offering, Berardi selected a Guatemala Bella Carmona Peaberry for its approachable profile, which he described as “very chocolatey” with somewhat low acidity.
“It’s not something where you pour yourself a cup of Guatemalan and it generically tastes like coffee,” he said. “It actually has sweetness and illustrates some of the complexity of the coffee cherry. It still does lack some of the volatile aromatic compounds, just because of what has to be done in order to make this a reality.”
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