Swiss Pac India x Blue Tokai
Designer | Niharika Jain, Safa Khan, Divisha Suman, Maira Bose, Aroshi Handu, Shivani Rawat, Pranav Sawhney, Ajay Saxena, Nischal Patnaik
Location | Vadodara, Gujarat, India
Launch Date | July 2, 2024
The art of growing and roasting specialty coffee – A walk through via Indian Folk Art. There is a dialogue from an Indian movie which goes like, “Coffee is like a religion, Sir. There’s no place for misinterpretation.” Blue Tokai Coffee realized this much before the dialogue was penned down, and hence wanted no chance of misinterpretation when it comes to coffee. The realization that it’s not just the specialty coffee that needs to be served to the customers, but there is an entire coffee culture that awaits to be unveiled to the coffee devotees. From these lush green farms to the incredible amount of work that goes into processing every single coffee bean, the coffee enthusiasts deserve to not just know but to feel all these. This desire to bring the world of coffee to life gave birth to what we see today as these elegant and beautiful Coffee Bags of Blue Tokai Coffee. - The first look and those subtle colors that suit the eye, and then, the artistic designs that will walk you through the world of coffee through their unanimity. And then when you have those coffee bags in your hand, the touch and feel of very wisely and thoughtfully chosen environment-friendly and sustainable packaging material. All these make you realize that love for coffee and Mother Nature is not just the brand image, but it’s Blue Tokai as a brand itself. The Adorable Color Palette The Blue Tokai Packaging comes with a soothing color palette, in contrast to the dark theme that is generally preferred theme of coffee brands. The colors are light, subtle, and unique, making it stand out in the crowd. Blue Tokai uses a unique color system that makes it easy to identify its offerings: six different flavor profiles. From Bold and Bitter to Chocolaty and Nutty, and even its own experimentals, the brand has used colors to simplify the complexity of its profiles. Each coffee is color coded – so if you like darker, bittier coffees, the coffees in the green pouch with the Mandana Art are for you. Into innovative light roasts?
The orange pouch with Madhubani art is for you. Such a unique way of categorizing and classifying coffee using colors already makes it stand out. World of Coffee through Indian Folk Art Once these colors catch your eye, the artistic designs of the Blue Tokai coffee bags, prudently and poetically designed with Indian folk art form, take you deeper into the intriguing world of coffee. Since there was no chance of ‘misinterpretation’, Blue Tokai decided to convey the feelings of coffee culture by drawing inspiration from Indian art forms, from Mandana to Madhubani, Pithora, Warli, and more. Taking a look at the artworks on the Blue Tokai coffee bags, you will see each piece of art highlights biodiversity or nuances of the life of a coffee farm, or certain stages of the processing of the bean. The slender, intricate, and organic style of Indian art and communities is perfectly and immaculately used for telling the stories of coffee beans coming from those lush farms, going through ingenious processing straight to our cups. Notable Aspects of the Artworks Mata Ni Pachedi by Waghari Artists of Ahmedabad. Mata ni Pachedi, literally translates to: “behind the Mother Goddess” or: following the Mother Goddess,” is a 300-year-old art form originating in the Kheda district, in and around Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The main characteristic features of the paintings consist of a figure of Mother Goddess, while the right and left contain motifs including mythological characters, human figures, musicians, and flowers. Traditionally, Mata Ni Pachedi was a ritual gesture of respect for the Mother Goddess, and it is believed that a bountiful nature is a gift to her followers. “Peacock and Bull” and “Elephant and Boar” are two pieces of the art form used on the pouches. The nature-oriented theme behind these pieces highlights the bird-friendly and shade-grown aspects of Indian coffee farms and reflects Mata Ni Pachedi’s ancient beliefs of respecting and observing nature.
The Coffee Tree of the Gond Art. The Coffee Tree was the first piece of art to be featured on the Blue Tokai Pouches. This has come from Gond Art, which visually reflects folk tales and traditional Gond Culture originally communicated through song. Coffee Tree reflects the balance that Gond art is known for. Through fine lines and dots, a symmetrical piece that reflects the Gond tribe’s core belief in the sanctity of nature. The fictitious Coffee Tree accentuates the intermingling of human life with forest animals that surround coffee shrubs. The Art of Teju Ben and Goving Jogi. These two artists have made a major contribution in preparing the artworks for our pouches. When they visited the Blue Tokai roasterie, it was non non-roasting day and the main job being carried out was sifting of beans. Then came the arts. Teju Ben created an image of lots of women sifting beans with bags and bags of beans around. Govind drew an image single man sifting beans under a tree. In working with them and many other folk artists of India, we were lucky to have been able to highlight the diversity of talent of India’s folk artists. The beauty in which they communicated their ideas about the farm or roasterie life doesn’t make the customers happy when they glance at the packaging, but they have, on a deeper level, contributed in shaping the aesthetic and environmentally friendly vision of the brand. The Shift to Eco-Friendly Practices: The Shift to Sustainable Packaging High Quality products require packaging that keeps them fresh and untampered. This usually means using foil or plastic inside the packaging, which is then heat-sealed to retain freshness. But if you are using multi-layered packaging, o one’s taking the time to strip apart those layers for proper disposal, and that leads the packaging straight to landfills without any segregation. Being a brand that embraces the values and culture of Mother Nature, it was very important that these are reflected in all the aspects of the Brand. To address this, Blue Tokai, in collaboration with Swiss Pac, came up with the perfect solution – The 100% Recyclable Bags. Swiss Pac, being one of the leading manufacturers of packaging material, especially known for its artisanal quality and eco-friendly range, offered a range of options to choose from. The challenge was picking up the right material so as to maintain the quality of coffee beans while at the same time ensuring that the packaging is environmentally friendly, causing no harm to Mother Earth. The solution came in the form of 100% Recyclable Mono Material.
A lot of research and effort led to the development of material that could be recycled 100% while making sure the coffee beans have the desired barrier. The challenge just didn’t end there; bringing down such creative designs and colors on such a material was a bigger challenge in itself. First, the accurate colors were to be achieved on the material, which was very new to the printing experts themselves. Then, uniformity was to be maintained with the colors across all sizes and variants. For instance, the background color of all the designs is the same across all sizes and variants, while the art forms on them were in different and passionately chosen colors. And since the material was not something that generally runs through the printing machines, the task was for the artisans. Apart from this, constructing a 3-dimensional pouch out of this material was again not an easy task. The pouch-making machines are more used to conventional material options, and hence it was again a challenge to make them friendly with the material. Swiss Pac India, with its state-of-the-art facilities and experienced experts, was the perfect marksman for the task. Though it took a while in achieving the desired result, what came out as a final result was something that was going to change the trend of packaging in the Indian market forever. And it was not just that the packaging was made recyclable, Blue Tokai ensures that it is actually recycled. There is a dedicated page on their website explaining how consumers can recycle their custom coffee bags responsibly. The Blue Tokai Bags, with their recyclable material, attractive pouch shapes, and unique and thoughtful colors and designs, made a bigger impact in the market than was expected. Not just did it lead to a boost in the sales of Blue Tokai Coffee, but it set a lead for the followers who wanted their packaging to be similar to Blue Tokai. “We need packaging similar to Blue Tokai Pouches.” At Swiss Pac India, this is a daily dialogue that we come across in our inquiries. And it is self-explanatory and conclusive to determine the legacy Blue Tokai has created in the Indian market with its packaging. As the saying goes, “Something that inspires millions for a better future is a much bigger achievement than something that makes a better future for just yourself.”
