Royal Cup Refreshing with Four New Core Brands

The four new core brands under the Royal Cup Coffee & Tea umbrella. The company plans to roll out each brand individually in the coming months, according to an announcement yesterday.

Birmingham, Alabama-based full-service coffee company Royal Cup Coffee & Tea has announced a major rebranding effort, consolidating its existing brands into four core brands.

While the company will continue developing customized blends and private-label products for wholesale clients throughout the hospitality, restaurant, office and cafe industries, its own four house brands moving forward will be under these names: Prideland, Royal Cup Signature, ROAR, and H.C. Valentine.

Royal Cup — which has been in business since 1896, operating almost exclusively in the business-to-business segment for the past 50-plus years — says it plans to roll out each of the brands individually over the next few months.

“For us, rebranding goes far beyond reimagining our portfolio’s aesthetic representations,” Royal Cup CEO Bill Smith said in a press release yesterday. “From procurement to manufacturing to distribution, we’ve optimized and streamlined our internal processes and operations to deliver the highest-quality product lines and equipment to the right customers at the right time. This is a game changer for Royal Cup, and for all those with whom we have the pleasure of doing business.”

While Prideland Coffee & Tea appears to be an entirely new brand under the Royal Cup umbrella, the three other brands have some history within the company — although all seem to be receiving an update, both aesthetically and operationally.

The Royal Cup Signature brand has included lines of RTD teas and the company’s first cold brew release; the ROAR brand to this point has targeted the office coffee segment with pods and whole bean bags; and the H.C. Valentine line has constituted more premium, origin-specific roasted offerings and core blends.

The future is now uncertain for other existing brands in the current Royal Cup portfolio, including the Villa Rey brand, the Royal Cup Rainforest brand, and a number of other brands bearing the Royal Cup name under categories like “Centennial” or “Private Reserve.”