Yellow Rooster Coffee Imports

Every coffee
carries a culture

Industry: Specialty Coffee
Role: Cultural Research & Packaging Strategy
Market: USA
Year: 2022–2024

2 years designs in active production

First illustrated coffee sacks the brand ever produced

2 origins Colombia and Mexico, each independently researched

Generic packaging arriving at US roasteries communicated nothing about the producer behind the coffee. Two origin specific designs changed that.

With this work

Shaped origin research into a series named In Defense of Peace.
Turned coffee roasters' curiosity about the illustrations into conversations about the region's need for peace.
Replaced generic origin branding with the brand's first illustrated sacks.

Challenge

The packaging format was a commodity in a category where the brand was trying to be anything but. Every coffee sack leaving origin carried only generic markings, a missed opportunity to communicate what made each origin distinct.

Approach

Two separate research processes, one per origin. Producer interviews established the human context. Historical and political research established the structural one. The outputs defined the creative brief, the illustration direction, the series name, and the content strategy.

Yellow Rooster packaging before — Before

Solution

The series name and illustration direction came directly from the research outputs. The result was In Defense of Peace, naming what the research found in both origins. Two origin specific designs were developed and launched simultaneously across website, Instagram, and email.

Results

The research led brief produced packaging that generated unprompted response at the point of delivery. Coffee roasters asked about the meaning behind the illustrations. The backstory sparked conversations about the region and its peace challenges. Roasters referenced the designs in their own Instagram content during harvest arrivals across multiple seasons. In Defense of Peace stayed in active production for two years.