Formulation expertise pays off for unique line of canned coffee shandy cold brews
Amani Coffee Company is a purpose-driven producer of single-origin craft roasted organic coffee. Swahili for “peace”, Amani goes beyond fair trade by working directly with coffee farmers in the Democratic Republic of Congo to grow the best coffee from the best soil. The company lives up to its tagline “Pour Positivity®” by paying the Congolese farmers an equal and living wage and reinvesting back into the Congolese community in ways it matters most to them, including roads, schools, better equipment, and clean water supply.
The production process equally matches the core value messaging, as the coffee cherries are hand-picked in the DRC and then shipped directly to Amani’s facility in the U.S where they are locally roasted and sold ground or whole bean in both dark and light roast offerings.
Wanting to expand into the canned cold brew beverage category, Amani approached Menu Collective to lead the beverage development. Based on current beverage trends and category insights on the top-selling flavors, Menu Collective defined the new line of canned cold brew to include:
- Original
- Vanilla
- Hazelnut
- Caramel
- Non-dairy oat milk latte
In addition to beverage formulation, Menu Collective assisted Amani with sourcing quality ingredients that measure up to the company’s core values. These products are currently in production and will hit the market in 2022.
“Working with Menu Collective helps transform our business by giving us industry insight beyond our knowledge. Together, they helped develop the formula for our line of Sparkling Coffee Shandy products, a truly unique product on the coffee market. Ultimately, our partnership helped grow our revenue exponentially.”
James Parrelly
Founder/CEO
Now, the two companies are working on the next beverage innovation: coffee shandies. Although a shandy is typically beer mixed with either flat or sparkling lemonade, this new line of coffee shandies will be part coffee and part carbonated juice. Relying again on their extensive knowledge of beverage trends and innovation, Menu Collective is formulating three new canned sparkling coffee shandy cold brew beverages for the Amani Coffee Company:
- Cherry
- Ginger
- Grapefruit
Anticipated launch is late 2022 or early 2023.