Eight O’Clock Coffee is not the pioneer in offering infused and functional coffee blends. The market has long featured various flavor-infused coffees, and now options like wine-infused and THC-infused coffees provide an extra kick. VitaCup, for instance, offers a range of vitamin-infused coffees available in single-use pods designed for specific machines. Since acquiring Eight O’Clock Coffee from Gryphon Investors in 2006, Tata Global Beverages has implemented several marketing strategies to revitalize this brand. Originally, the in-store coffee brand of the former A&P grocery chain was sold to the private equity firm in 2003.
Last year, Tata launched an extensive marketing campaign that highlighted whole bean coffee, and in 2012, they partnered with Green Mountain to introduce Eight O’Clock K-cups for Keurig machines. This collaboration is credited with helping Eight O’Clock Coffee capture a 7% share of the single-serve market within just two years. The demand for packaged coffee has surged recently, largely due to significant growth in the single-serve format. Ready-to-drink varieties have also gained popularity, posing a challenge to the Eight O’Clock brand as consumers increasingly prioritize convenience.
It remains uncertain whether the health and flavor benefits of ingredients like turmeric, cinnamon, and even acai will encourage millennials to invest time in brewing coffee. Tata is clearly committed to enhancing the positioning of Eight O’Clock Coffee in the highly competitive packaged coffee sector, and these infused products represent just one of their strategies. The company is particularly interested in determining if these offerings will appeal to younger coffee drinkers, who tend to be more open to trendy formulations and packaging. Furthermore, with the inclusion of health-conscious options like Citracal 500 mg in the market, it will be interesting to see how these trends unfold in the coming months.