New NuZee VP Sees Opportunity in Single-Serve Coffee Segment

Marie Franklin is no stranger to the coffee business. But now, as the newly appointed vice president of sales and marketing at NuZee, she is overseeing the company’s efforts to shake up the single-serve coffee segment with its assortment of single-serve pour over and coffee brew bag filters.

“Our goal is to give the consumer coffee with a better taste profile and to elevate the whole coffee experience,” she told Store Brands. “The single-serve products on the market provide a decent cup of coffee, but our products give consumers the ability to have control over the coffee they are brewing.”

NuZee’s history dates back to the tsunami that impacted Japan in March 2011. The company’s mission at the time was to provide safe bottled drinking water from New Zealand to help with recovery efforts. The company has evolved into a coffee co-packing company that works with companies of all sizes to help develop products within the single-serve and private label coffee category.

Franklin noted NuZee currently works with a handful of major retailers in the U.S. ranging from mass merchants, to specialty grocery outlets and wholesale clubs.

While much of the coffee consumed at home today is brewed through single-serve K-Cup-style pods or via the traditional drip methods, NuZee is among a handful of suppliers bringing to market a new style of making a single cup at home. Equating the company’s product to “coffee in a tea bag,” Franklin said this style of brewing produces a higher quality cup of coffee that is also more environmentally friendly.

She said NuZee uses fully compostable brew bag filters along with recyclable foil wrappers and boxes. Additionally, the company said it also uses renewable energy at its product facility. The company has earned several certifications from Fair Trade USA, Rainforest Alliance among others and its products are rated USDA Organic.

While consumers are accustomed to using single-serve pods or brewing a pot of coffee in a drip coffeemaker, Franklin feels the new single-serve method NuZee offers will not come with a major learning curve for end users.

“We understand that there is a great deal of habit in an individual’s coffee drinking routine,” she said. “But our products are super easy to use and connect them more to the coffee they are drinking.”