🌐 The Global Bottleneck: Why Custom Coffee Bag Lead Times Force Temporary Packaging
At mycuppa, freshness dictates our speed. Our coffee is freshly roasted in the morning, packed within 20 minutes of roasting, and dispatched in the afternoon. This fast-paced operation, which handles over 20+ different coffees every day, leaves no room for delays—especially in our packaging supply chain.
We want to address why you may occasionally receive your freshly roasted coffee in a temporary bag. Please do not be alarmed; it is the correct, appropriate coffee from us. The reason lies entirely outside our control: severe global manufacturing constraints.
The Critical Supply Chain Problem: 20-Week Lead Times
While we source our coffee bags from an Australian company, the bags themselves are manufactured overseas, primarily in Taiwan or South Korea. This global reliance creates a significant, long-standing issue: really long lead times.
-
The Ordering Bottleneck: General lead times for our custom, printed coffee bags are consistently up to and exceeding 18 weeks.
-
The Consistency Challenge: We plan up to 20 weeks ahead, but we never know if a specific order will take longer. This manufacturing reality has been consistent for over 15 years with no improvement.
For an operation that must maintain high volume and variety, a packaging shortage due to these extended lead times is a constant threat.
Prioritizing Quality: The Substitute Packaging Solution
If the custom bags are delayed, we immediately switch to high-quality equivalent packaging to ensure your coffee is never held up waiting for a container to arrive.
-
The Identifier: You may receive your coffee in a matte white bag with the roast date written clearly in pencil.
-
The Guarantee: Regardless of the cosmetic differences, the substitute packaging is of the same equivalent quality in terms of barrier protection, ensuring your coffee remains fresh.
Why Traditional Packaging Still Wins (The Quality Trade-Off)
We understand the demand for sustainable options, but we prioritize taste and longevity above all else. This means we must be cautious when selecting packaging materials.
-
Oxygen Barrier Protection: We use packaging with a metallised foil layer because it provides superior oxygen barrier protection and high thermal hydroscopic properties. This is vital for preserving the delicate flavor compounds and oils in freshly roasted coffee.
-
The Recyclable Compromise: Unfortunately, most common recyclable coffee bags currently available have negatives and compromises in their barrier protection. Using these would mean the coffee in the bag would not be as good as coffee packed in traditional materials.
We will not compromise the quality and shelf-life of your coffee just to switch to a less effective packaging solution.
In summary, if your coffee arrives in a different bag, rest assured we only use equivalent quality packaging. The core reason is the chronic, long-term supply chain issue for custom coffee bags, which forces us to secure freshness over branding consistency.
