Coffee and butter? Labels should declare surprising ingredients

Not many people in the United States probably add butter to their morning coffee on a regular basis, but that’s a practice that one company is trying to promote via a Kickstarter and new line of Tibetan-inspired beverage starter kits.

When this sort of unusual additive is considered, the company producing the beverage needs to think carefully about how it is displayed on its coffee labels so consumers are not confused.

This particular brand, Coffee Blocks, is a good example of this consideration. The package, shown in a video included with the article, is a small and relatively discrete container with a plain red and white cover. When a product is attempting to demonstrate its innovation, it needs to choose a distinct and easy-to-read approach.

In the Times, one of the minds behind Coffee Blocks, Tom Meredith, was quoted explaining how the market’s inherent biases might affect their experience with his product.

“People have preconceptions about what health food tastes like and most haven’t even considered what adding butter to coffee tastes like,” he said.

However, butter in coffee, popular in Tibet, does seem to be making inroads into the U.S.: a recent Women’s Health article, referring to it as “bulletproof coffee,” cited medical professionals who think this could be a source of healthy fat, although only if consumed in the right proportionate amounts.

Whatever spin you hope to give an established product, applying the best labels through an industrial label system could make all the difference for a curious but apprehensive customer base. As is the case with Coffee Blocks, you might have an idea that requires very specific packaging.