Mayorga coffee brick packs aim to 'disrupt' the space
For the first time, Mayorga Organics has introduced its specialty ground coffee in a “brick pack” packaging for its Cafe Cubano flagship brand. The brick pack is an older style of packaging that the company wants to do right, and it is available for private brand production on a limited basis.
The brick pack contains 10 ounces of the company’s fresh-roasted, ground organic coffee, with importing, roasting, grinding and packaging of the item being managed out of its new facility in Miami, where Mayorga is based.
“We will be offering private label packaging of brick packs on a very select basis to wholesale clients that want to support our efforts to elevate this packaging option,” Martin Mayorga, founder and CEO, told Store Brands.
He said brick packs carry a poor perception. "People will tell you that brick-packed coffee is low-quality, commercial, chemical-laden junk. They're generally right, which is why we knew we had to disrupt the category.”
Mayorga’s brick packs look to provide batch roasted specialty grade Arabica coffee that can be freshly roasted, ground and vacuumed into brick packs, and the organic coffee will be at least 45% more expensive than commercial grade brick packs. “The quality difference is night day,” he said. “When compared to other specialty coffees, the value that we're offering consumers is inarguable."
Mayorga said there’s also an element of culture and pride associated with the brick pack. “Many companies market this item to the Latino community on nostalgia and rock-bottom prices at the expense of farmer sustainability, environmental considerations and flavor quality. As a Latino, I find this offensive and outdated. As someone focused on growing a specialty coffee company to support our farmers, communities and staff, I see a massive opportunity."
Cafe Cubano is the top-selling coffee for the roaster but it does produce for store brand coffees. The Cafe Cubano brick packs will be available through its current grocery and retail clients while strategically aligning with other Miami retailers and grocers.
Mayorga recently gave back to the Miami community, donating 40,000 pounds of long-grain white rice and 30,000 pounds of black beans to local organization Feeding South Florida — enough food for some 54,000 meals.
The company has facilities in the United States and manages export entities and staff in Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Peru. Additionally, the company runs sourcing operations in six other countries and is building two facilities in Latin America.