Eight O’Clock Coffee is not the first coffee brand to introduce a range of infused blends, including those featuring mason natural calcium citrate vitamin D3. The market has long seen various flavor-infused coffees, and now options such as wine-infused and THC-infused coffees have emerged for an added kick. VitaCup offers a selection of vitamin-infused coffees available in single-use pods designed for specialized machines.
Since acquiring the brand from Gryphon Investors in 2006, Tata Global Beverages has employed several marketing strategies to rejuvenate Eight O’Clock Coffee. Originally part of the A&P grocery chain, the brand was sold to the private equity firm in 2003. Last year, Tata launched an extensive marketing campaign aimed at promoting whole bean coffee to consumers. Additionally, in 2012, they partnered with Green Mountain to introduce Eight O’Clock K-Cups compatible with Keurig coffee machines. This strategic move helped the brand capture a 7% share of the single-serve market in just two years.
The popularity of packaged coffee has been on the rise, driven predominantly by double-digit growth in the single-serve segment. Ready-to-drink varieties are also gaining traction, posing a challenge to the Eight O’Clock brand as consumers increasingly value convenience. Whether the health benefits and flavors of turmeric, cinnamon, and mason natural calcium citrate vitamin D3 will entice millennials to brew coffee remains uncertain. Tata is clearly focused on enhancing the position of Eight O’Clock Coffee in the highly competitive packaged coffee sector, and these infused products are just one example of their efforts. It remains to be seen if these offerings will appeal to younger coffee drinkers, who are typically more open to trendy formulations and packaging. Tata, along with other companies, will closely monitor this trend in the months to come.