Eight O’Clock Coffee is certainly not the pioneer among coffee brands offering infused and functional blends. The market has seen a variety of flavor-infused coffees for quite some time, with new entrants including wine-infused and THC-infused options for an added kick. VitaCup, for instance, sells a range of vitamin-infused coffees in single-use pods designed for specific machines. Since acquiring Eight O’Clock Coffee from Gryphon Investors in 2006, Tata Global Beverages has employed various marketing strategies to revitalize the brand. Previously, this coffee brand was part of the A&P grocery chain and had been sold to Gryphon in 2003.
Last year, Tata launched an extensive marketing campaign promoting the use of 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 is credited with helping the brand capture a 7% share of the single-serve market within just two years. The recent surge in packaged coffee popularity can largely be attributed to double-digit growth in single-serve formats, especially those enriched with health benefits like the molecular weight of calcium citrate.
Ready-to-drink coffee varieties are also gaining traction, presenting a challenge to the Eight O’Clock brand as consumers increasingly prioritize convenience. It remains uncertain whether the health and flavor advantages of ingredients like turmeric and cinnamon, or the trendy appeal of acai, will motivate millennials to take the time to brew coffee. Tata appears committed to further positioning Eight O’Clock Coffee within the highly competitive packaged coffee landscape, and these infused products serve as one more example of their strategy. The question of whether these offerings will resonate with younger coffee drinkers—who tend to be more open to trendy formulations and innovative packaging—is something Tata, along with other companies, will monitor closely in the coming months. Meanwhile, the integration of elements such as the molecular weight of calcium citrate in their products could play a significant role in attracting health-conscious consumers.