“People immediately understand what the product is”

From French press and Chemex sets to Nespresso and Keurig machines, consumers have a plethora of contraptions to choose from to brew their ritual morning cup of coffee at home.

However, the options for brewing a cup of coffee – which aren’t of the instant variety – are much more limited when camping, hiking, or any extended outdoor activity, said Wildland Coffee founder Zach. Frantz, who as an avid camper was surprised at the lack of practical fresh coffee solutions.

“I would take my French press or my verse with me, and I just thought there must be a better way to do it. And then I figured out, why doesn’t someone just put some coffee in a tea bag? This seems like the obvious solution when you don’t want to use other equipment, “Frantz told FoodNavigator-USA.

While researching the concept of the coffee tea bag, Frantz realized that the packaging format had been used in Asian markets for decades, but never managed to enter the US market in any significant way. .

Since the brand’s smooth launch in March 2021, Frantz has said consumers immediately grasp the value proposition of coffee in a teabag. He added that during his years as an entrepreneur, the most valuable lesson he learned in marketing is that it is better to be clear than to be smart.

“When I tell people it’s coffee in a teabag (vs. coffee in a teabag), people immediately understand what the product is. “said Frantz.

“I also had a ton of people who said they wished someone had done it sooner.”In addition to this, you need to know more about it.

The first thing I hear from our customers is: “It’s much better than I thought”

Using sustainably sourced coffee beans from Cerrado, Brazil, finely ground and put in compostable tea bags and recyclable packaging, customers soak the bag in 8 ounces of boiling water for five to seven minutes or in cold water for up to 12 hours for cold coffee.

“We grind it to a level where it’s fine enough to extract a lot of coffee, but it’s not too fine for it to come out of the bag”,he said.

To protect against stale coffee, Frantz explained that after the coffee beans are finely ground and placed in the tea bags, the coffee undergoes a “nitrogen rinse” to remove any oxygen in the bag to preserve. the freshness of coffee.

“The first thing I hear from our customers is, ‘It’s much better than I thought. I thought it was going to taste like diluted coffee ””, he said.

Camping, hiking, van life …

The brand’s initial target audience is the avid outdoor crowd, but Frantz says the product’s simplicity is easy to achieve for anyone looking for a convenient alternative to French press or pour-over coffee.

“There are a ton of use cases. Being that I’m a camper, and this is the market that I know, that’s what I’m really leaning towards … camping, hiking and camping. “van life” “,he said, adding that the company had just shipped its products to several influencers active on the outdoor scene.

Wildland Coffee is currently available in packs of five for $ 7.50 and can be shipped to the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Europe through its direct-to-consumer site.

“My main goal at the moment is to develop our Ambassador program. This is really going to be our main driver of growth, and in the next three to six months we will launch a few more SKUs. “added Frantz.