Design Details: La Colombe’s New See-Through Coffee Boxes

Beginning later this week, all 12-ounce packaged La Colombe offerings in stores and sold online will reflect a new look and feel, with shelf-friendly boxes and a new color scheme that highlights four distinct categories of roasted coffee while still giving each offering its own custom identifying image.

Of particular note in the new design is a small cut-out window on the front of the box that allows consumers to see into a transparent bag to get a more accurate understanding of what is, in popular packaging parlance, the “roast level.” The design choice comes despite the fact that light exposure is generally believed to accelerate staling in roasted coffee, although the slimness of the window perhaps mitigates the effect.

The Philadelphia-based roaster and retailer said it chose the box design for added resilience in shipping, although it also said it allows for additional flavor notes and design freedom, while the packaging materials are recyclable, part post-consumer and part biodegradable.

The design also draws further attention to La Colombe’s coffee types: Navy boxes contain La Colombe’s “Cornerstone” coffee blends; natural white-ish boxes contain single-origin and limited-edition coffees in the “Workshop” line; maroon boxes contain “Alliance” coffees, which are associated with a particular cause, issue or region for fundraising or awareness; and green boxes contain certified organic offerings.