Coaltown Coffee
Designer | Smörgåsbord Studio - Dylan Griffith & Alex Frew in collaboration with the Coaltown Coffee internal team.
Location | Ammanford, Carmarthenshire, Wales
Launch Date | February 13, 2026
The Coaltown Coffee 2026 rebrand is an evolution rather than a reset, developed by Smörgåsbord Studio (Dylan Griffith & Alex Frew) in collaboration with Coaltown’s internal team. Built on strong existing foundations, the project focused on refining and elevating the brand rather than replacing it, creating a more deliberate, scalable system rooted in purpose, place, and longevity.
At the heart of the brand is Coaltown’s story: Ammanford, South West Wales, was built on anthracite coal, “Black Gold,” which once fuelled livelihoods and identity across the region. When the final colliery closed in 2003, that sense of purpose was lost. Coaltown was founded to reignite that pride by creating a new kind of Black Gold: specialty coffee. This transformation from raw to refined, past industry to contemporary craft, became the foundation of the design philosophy.
The colour palette remains grounded in Coaltown’s established Coal Black, supported by muted industrial tones and warmer accents inspired by oxidised metals, earth, and geological strata. Purpose Orange was introduced as a subtle reference to the National Coal Board donkey jackets worn across South Wales, symbolising graft, resilience, and the people behind both mining and coffee.
Material choices reflect the same honesty and durability. Matte textured coffee bags create a tactile finish, while heavy-GSM 200g retail boxes were designed to stack modularly like brickwork, referencing industrial architecture while encouraging reuse and display. Typography centres around Successor by Commercial Type, with a customised slab serif logotype featuring subtle “nicks” in the letterforms, giving it a worked, industrial quality. The result is a restrained, authentic system that prioritises longevity and a strong sense of Purpose.
