Cuvee Coffee’s Black & Blue in Ball’s Nitro Cans win BevNET’s Best of 2015 Award
First coffee to use Ball’s innovative nitro widget can
BROOMFIELD, Colo., Jan. 14, 2016 When Cuvée Coffee’s Black & Blue in nitro cans from Ball Corporation won BevNET’s Best of 2015 Award for “Best Packaging Innovation of the Year,” it was the culmination of a multi-year quest by Cuvée Coffee CEO Mike McKim for the perfect packaging for his growing beverage brand.
“I’m a craft beer enthusiast, and I love all the advantages cans bring to the table for premium beverages,” McKim says. “Black & Blue in Ball’s widget can is like taking home the exact same nitro coffee we serve on tap – with the smooth, foamy pour that helps create a memorable drinking experience. You can enjoy it anywhere you go, and thanks to Ball’s widget technology, the product tastes just like it does in our Austin, Texas, Coffee Bar.”
BevNET cited Cuvée as “the first cold brew brand to market a nitrogenated offering,” adding “it’s really the first time in ‘third-wave coffee’ where a shelf-stable format is truly a straight replica of something you’d buy in the shop.” Cuvée’s Black & Blue is packaged in innovative 375mL cans from Ball that include a nitrogen widget in the can that creates a soft, frothy head upon pouring. Black & Blue is currently available at hundreds of retailers across Texas and was recently released at all Whole Foods locations in the Northeast region.
“Today’s consumers, particularly millennials, view cans as a convenient, portable and sustainable package that can go anywhere they go while protecting the beverage inside from oxygen and light,” said Bruce Doelling, vice president, sales, for Ball’s North American metal beverage packaging business. “Cans also offer a 360-degree billboard for brand messaging and high quality graphics, making cans a fun package in any setting. Cuvée Coffee is taking advantage of those benefits to deliver a unique experience to people who love coffee.”
About Cuvée Coffee
Cuvée Coffee was founded in 1998 in a Dallas warehouse as an exploratory hobby. Mentored by his uncle, owner Mike McKim found enjoyment in the roasting process and quickly realized that his product was in great demand. Soon, Cuvée Coffee was being credited as the pioneer of specialty coffee in Texas. Today, Cuvée Coffee is a craft coffee company located in Austin, Texas, that strives for innovation in its coffee roastery, cold coffee brewery, training facility and retail location.
About Ball Corporation
Ball Corporation supplies innovative, sustainable packaging solutions for beverage, food and household products customers, as well as aerospace and other technologies and services primarily for the U.S. government. Ball Corporation and its subsidiaries employ 14,500 people worldwide and reported 2014 sales of $8.6 billion. For more information, visit www.ball.com, or connect with us on Facebook or Twitter.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains “forward-looking” statements concerning future events and financial performance. Words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “estimates” and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Key risks and uncertainties are summarized in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Exhibit 99 in our Form 10-K, which are available on our website and at www.sec.gov. Factors that might affect: a) our packaging segments include product demand fluctuations; availability/cost of raw materials; competitive packaging, pricing and substitution; changes in climate and weather; crop yields; competitive activity; failure to achieve productivity improvements or cost reductions; mandatory deposit or other restrictive packaging laws; customer and supplier consolidation, power and supply chain influence; changes in major customer or supplier contracts or loss of a major customer or supplier; political instability and sanctions; and changes in foreign exchange or tax rates; b) our aerospace segment include funding, authorization, availability and returns of government and commercial contracts; and delays, extensions and technical uncertainties affecting segment contracts; c) the company as a whole include those listed plus: changes in senior management; regulatory action or issues including tax, environmental, health and workplace safety, including U.S. FDA and other actions or public concerns affecting products filled in our containers, or chemicals or substances used in raw materials or in the manufacturing process; technological developments and innovations; litigation; strikes; labor cost changes; rates of return on assets of the company’s defined benefit retirement plans; pension changes; uncertainties surrounding the U.S. government budget, sequestration and debt limit; reduced cash flow; ability to achieve cost-out initiatives; interest rates affecting our debt; and successful or unsuccessful acquisitions and divestitures, including, with respect to the proposed Rexam PLC acquisition, the effect of the announcement of the acquisition on our business relationships, operating results and business generally; the occurrence of any event or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of our definitive agreement with Rexam PLC in respect of the acquisition; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against us related to the definitive agreement with Rexam PLC; and the failure to satisfy conditions to completion of the acquisition of Rexam PLC, including the receipt of all required regulatory approvals.
