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Morning coffee. Image (C) Tim Sandle
NuZee is a leading coffee technology and co-packing company that provides end-to-end sustainable solutions for clients, ranging from small roasters to large global brands, looking to expand in the single-serve and private label categories.
What is it like to run a company that places its ethics at the top as well as seeking to grow the brand? To discover more, Digital Journal spoke with Masa Higashida, CEO of NuZee, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUZE).
Digital Journal: Can you provide a brief background on NuZee, Inc.?
Masa Higashida: NuZee was started after the devastating tsunami that hit Japan in March 2011. At the time, our mission was to provide pure, safe bottled drinking water from New Zealand – hence our name – to help in the recovery effort. What began as a humanitarian endeavor led to the establishment and launch of NuZee products worldwide. We have since evolved to become the premier coffee co-packing company in the world, where we partner with companies of all sizes to help them expand within the single-serve and private label coffee category. NuZee has grown rapidly, and we currently serve over 200 brands.
DJ: What type of technology does NuZee use?
Higashida: We use several different technologies, which make our products innovative and sustainable. These are:
- Single-serve pour over and brew bag (tea bag style) packaging.
- Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) & Technischer Überwachungsverein (TUV) certified compostable material, which ensures optimal freshness.
- Industrially-compostable brew bag filter.
- The ultrasonic sealing technology, which allows for our bags to degas without a plastic one-way degassing valve. Eliminating plastic valves means coffee bags can become eco-friendly and enables the coffee bag supply chain and production cycles to be more efficient.
Cup of coffee in a cafe. Image by Tim Sandle
DJ: NuZee is committed to sustainability. Why is this important and in what ways is your business eco-friendly?
Higashida: People around the world love to drink coffee; however, coffee is a limited resource on this planet. So, we should treat it with care and consume only what we need if we want the coffee culture to thrive 100 years from now.
Preserving the coffee resources that we have today is just as important as providing sustainable solutions for how we consume it. We believe single-serve coffee is the best way to help coffee drinkers do their part in responsible consumption. Additionally, our formats only require a mug and hot water, no additional equipment is needed. Brewing one cup at a time ensures fresh coffee, and at the same time reduces waste by brewing at a single-serve measurement. Consumers don’t waste coffee or water. Our brew bag coffee filters are also industrially compostable, and our boxes are recyclable. And we will continue to look for packaging that is recyclable.
DJ: What are the latest trends in the coffee manufacturing industry?
Higashida: The coffee manufacturing industry is evolving and focusing more on the environmental and social components of its business. As such, we are seeing an increased emphasis on sustainable packaging solutions, single-serve alternatives, coffee traceability, and ensuring that farmers are being compensated fairly.
DJ: Where do you expect the industry to go in the next five years?
Higashida: We believe that the growth of specialty coffee and for specialty coffee is going to be normalized. Also, there will be more experimenting around blending specialty coffee with functional ingredients such as mushrooms, turmeric, and more. Lastly, companies will increasingly focus on how to make the coffee packaging more sustainable in order to reduce their impact on the environment.
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