Inside the Formula: RTD Coffee with Honey

For thousands of years, honey’s sweet spot in the hot beverage category has been complementing tea with a touch of sweetness. In recent years, there’s been an expansion of honey’s role in hot beverages, first with specialty coffee drinks and now as just the “plus one” to a steaming cup of black coffee.

As honey’s popularity in coffee grew, so did our innovation team’s desire to formulate the perfect ready-to-drink (RTD) canned coffee with honey. The growth of canned, cold coffee has led to a wave of innovation in the category, but we wanted to keep this project simple. Here are the three guard rails we implemented to develop this formula:

• We could only use two ingredients: coffee and honey

• We would only impart a touch of sweetness that would appeal to both black coffee drinkers and those that take it with sugar.

• Honey’s aromatics had to be present when the can was opened.

With only two ingredients allowed, our most critical decision came down with the usage rate of honey. We started at 3% and went as high as 10%. The sweet spot: 5%. At this usage range, we got the perfect sweetness, as well as honey’s aromatics. As a bonus, we also loved the body of this coffee, as the addition of honey added a little heft to the mouthfeel.

Here’s three more reasons why an RTD coffee with honey makes sense.

Honey Creates a Different Sweetness Experience

Honey is complex, with a combination of 20+ carbohydrates, acids, polyphenols and volatile organic compounds. Honey has a flavor, not just a sweetness, and this in itself, creates a differentiated product in the marketplace. Honey’s aromatics also play a strong role in this formula, adding a perceived sweetness as well as floral and fruity aromas.

Honey Supports Clean Label Positioning

With an ingredient deck that reads “coffee, honey,” this formula is designed for consumers that want a little sweetness, and still feel good about it. Honey’s use also adds a marketing benefit, as popular honey imagery can be used on can graphics.

Honey Tells a Story

Coffee and honey share something important: both have origin stories. Product marketers can use each ingredient’s source as a narrative to tell the story of farmers and beekeepers and their symbiotic relationship.

If you would like the full formulas and processing notes, email [email protected].