paper bags or plastic?

[Tex]

I'll be heading out to my first crafts fair gig March 27 - 29. I have no idea what I'm doing, but I'm going anyway. I'll probably take too much coffee and end up bringing more home than I sell; but hopefully I'll sell out in the first couple of hours and have to turn customers away.

I've decided not to roast at the fair; at least not until I get a feel for the situation. I bought 25# of greens that I liked from a local roaster who's been very supportive. I plan on roasting 2/3 to a Full City and the rest to a darker level (seems Starbuck's & Peets has everyone thinking coffee has to be dark to be good!).

I'm going to order bags from Plastic Bags For You, but I need to decide which ones. I'll be using 1/2 lb bags but can't make my mind up which ones to get. The stand-up plastic bags look cooler but I'm favoring the regular paper for their simplicity. Do the paper bags need the degassing valve or are they porous enough as-is?

BTW - I've decided to price my whole beans at $8 per 1/2 pound bag. That puts it in the premium class and that's where I'm planning on carving a niche. I did think about $10 for 12 oz bags, but decided to keep the weights simplified at quarter, half, or full pounds. Thoughts?

[milowebailey]

My advice is hemp!  For some reason people love those!

I hate when coffee is disguised in a lb bag only to find 12 oz.... I'd stick with 1/4, 1/2, 1lb

[peter]

I think for a farmer's market, the kraft paper bags have a 'homey' look, more so than pouches.

For the way I do things, valves are not needed, and wasting money, but especially on kraft bags with tin-ties.

[Tex]

My advice is hemp!  For some reason people love those!

Hey man, do you toss the bags into the Sonofresco? That'd make one helluva a bong!

[barko78]

http://www.stockbagdepot.com/paper-bags/tin-tie-paper-bag-with-pla-liner/

I have ordered samples of these.  They are a paper kraft bag with a PLA liner (corn based film).  The are a nice biodegradable "green" packaging option.  The barrier is low but I'll be filling 12oz of beans and don't expect the coffee to sit in them for more that a week or two after purchase.  They are about 10cents a piece.

Like Peter said, they will have a bit of a homey look :icon_rr:

When the samples arrive I'm going to roast and package, wait a few days and see how things go, I'll be more than happy to post how it goes.

Ben

[Tex]

I think for a farmer's market, the kraft paper bags have a 'homey' look, more so than pouches.

For the way I do things, valves are not needed, and wasting money, but especially on kraft bags with tin-ties.

That's what I was thinking too. Then my next question is would the plain paper of the windowed look be most appealing to customers?

[jspain]

Tex,

I may be going against the grain here? If your market segmentation is going to be the higher end, I'd go with plastic bags with a valve for the whole beans. For those customers that want your beans but have no grinder, then go with the paper bags with ties. I have tried to get all my customers (churches) to get grinders, but many don't/won't and I still take our great greens, roast, and let rest and then GRIND>>>>> ugh! However, I provide what the customer wants. I'd suggest having both for the fair.

My "understanding customers" want valves and understand I roast fresh and they need time to de-gas.

My two cents worth. BTY, I have some nifty labels that can be placed on each bag for discription purposes. Variety, "Fair Trade", weight, roast level, etc. You can make your own on the computer.... Jim

[peter]

The window is good for the eye-candy appeal.  But it limits you on labeling, homey.   :icon_rr:

[barko78]

The window is good for the eye-candy appeal.  But it limits you on labeling, homey.   :icon_rr:

The barrier on these Kraft bags are already minimal.  The window, IMO, would add light which can stale the beans faster.  I'm sticking with the windowless for now.

[Stubbie]

I bought the craft paper w/tin tie bags from Coffee Wholesale USA and have been pleased with them.  Bought a case of 1,000 and it worked out to just over $.10/ea instead of the near $.50/ea for the valved zipper bags.

Don't get the window - might look appealing, but light is something that will kill your product fast - not to mention all the oxygen those kraft bags are going to let in.

-Stubbie

[Tex]

Staling? Light damage? I hadn't even thought of those issues!

I was thinking that 1/2 lb bags of coffee would go quickly enough that customers wouldn't let the coffee get too stale before wanting to order more. I'm going to label them with company name, web site, phone number, bean description, and roast date.

Someone did show me some pretty oblong foil labels that I can use with my inkjet printer.

Maybe later, if this goes into terra incognita, I'll have to change my plans. Other than that, for now I want to keep it as simple as possible - as in K.I.S.S.!

[J.Jirehs Roaster]

BTW - I've decided to price my whole beans at $8 per 1/2 pound bag. That puts it in the premium class and that's where I'm planning on carving a niche. I did think about $10 for 12 oz bags, but decided to keep the weights simplified at quarter, half, or full pounds. Thoughts?

will your customers take your premium class coffee in a homey paper bag seriously or will the price seem high for a visually low grade package??

the 12oz packaging is based on 1 lb of greens = 12oz roasted (approximately) I think in your case it would be easiest for you to sell half and/or full Sonafresco batches if you decide to roast on site...

if you use brown paper you could use less expensive printer labels and keep the design homey, if you use the mylar bags with one way valves and a heat sealer then get the foil labels...

I bean thinking all the same stuff and it's a hurtin the grey between my ears 

I think the key for the markets is that great tasting coffee at a fair price will get their attention and then if they are willing to place an order or subscribe to X pounds a week you can roast with less waste ...

[Tex]

...
I bean thinking all the same stuff and it's a hurtin the grey between my ears  ...

Yeah, it'd would be nice if I'd been kinder to those little gray cells when I was younger! :headbang:

[ButtWhiskers]

Staling? Light damage? I hadn't even thought of those issues!

I was thinking that 1/2 lb bags of coffee would go quickly enough that customers wouldn't let the coffee get too stale before wanting to order more. I'm going to label them with company name, web site, phone number, bean description, and roast date.

Some of those "1/2#" bags look rather light when holding less than 10oz of French Roast or 12-14oz of Full City.
Kraft paper is fine if you load them up there, but they are nowhere near protective, and the staling clock starts ticking right away.  If you roast the night before, the offgassing will buy you enough prophylaxis so that they will be fine (no noticeable quality loss) for about a week.  Realize that many of the customers are people that will be buying for someone else, so the coffee might not get brewed for weeks, especially when the recipient waits until they finish the coffee that they are currently using because your bag is still unopened.  Most folks have no clue that the clock is ticking, but then again, most wouldn't notice the difference, either.

  Someone did show me some pretty oblong foil labels that I can use with my inkjet printer.

Foil labels will smear/not dry properly on an inkjet unless they are specially-coated papers, and those cost quite a bit.  You are better off bringing in foil labels to a copy store and having them run on a copier - you don't have to worry about moisture causing them to run, either.  If you have access to a laser printer, that is the best way to go.

DataLabels.com has decent prices on label stock.

[Tex]

This is too confusing. What's to stop me from showing up with a large bin of roasted beans and a box of plain paper bags & twist ties? I could claim to be the green roasted coffee seller!