Design and production details
Earnest Pursuit Coffee Roasting uses 300g metal tins for its specialty coffee rather than traditional bags. The company selected this packaging because metal blocks light, holds its shape, and takes print well. AOFP Studio designed the system and worked closely with founder Dylan Marvin on the copy and illustrations, which the manufacturer in China prints directly onto the metal surface. Marvin chose this specific manufacturer because American-made circular tins did not meet his requirements for shape or design.
The design process lasted six months from the first sketches to the product reaching the shelf. This period included two full sample runs because the original Pantone references did not hold on the metal. Marvin had to respecify the color palette in hex to fix the color issues, which delayed the launch by months because the original Pantone references did not hold well on the metal surface during the two sample runs. Shipping logistics also presented difficulties, such as a three-week delay at the Panama Canal because insufficient rain reduced the number of available ships. The design team aimed for a look that people would enjoy on their counter. The packaging includes a hand-drawn map with a dotted line from the farm to New York and a small elevation diagram.
Packaging features and reuse
| Packaging Spec | Detail |
|---|---|
| Weight | 300g |
| Material | Metal |
| Printing | Direct-printed |
| Design Agency | AOFP Studio |
The brand displays coffee details through a consistent visual layout that places tasting notes in a badge on the front. The back carries the producer, variety, process, and elevation, as the company believes process explains the cup better than anything else. Everything sits in the same position on every tin, so consumers know where to look by their third purchase. The cupping score sits small and last on the back to avoid opening a conversation like a student with SAT results. Each illustration features a slightly curved table line to make the rigid system feel more hand-drawn. The illustrations depict a recurring cast of characters in ordinary New York scenes, led by a Doberman with an unreasonably optimistic inner life.
The company encourages customers to reuse the tins as flower pots because most specialty coffee bags end up in the bin after three weeks. Earnest Pursuit also plans to sell plain refill bags so customers can keep the original tins. This approach provides a clear advantage over multi-layer laminate bags that people discard quickly. The brand uses a dry, self-deprecating voice closer to a New Yorker cartoon than a farm photograph to achieve "premium coffee, no attitude" branding. One drawback was the long lead time from China, which forced the company to deal with shipping industry issues like the Panama Canal water shortages.
