The Origins of Cafe Altura date back to the late 1970’s when a group of organic enthusiasts gathered in Ojai, California to live and work on a 75-acre citrus farm. Their idea was to farm the ranch organically and develop related businesses.

One afternoon, a group of visitors told them a story of a farm in Mexico that had been growing coffee using organic and Biodynamic techniques for 20 years. They went off to Chiapas, Mexico, and begin importing organically-grown coffee beans, becoming the first company in the U.S. to do so.

Cafe Altura has been in business for more than thirty years but the branding had not been updated since the 1980s. We were given the assignment to create new branding and packaging designs, stress organic, improve quality and value perceptions and increase visibility in the store. The design had to work with whole bean, ground and instant products for more than 80 SKUs.

We focused on the firm’s authenticity, the real “story” behind the product; on organic ingredients; on the quality of the beans sourced from family farms; and on a great taste experience.

We created a narrative of the company history with the text and specific visual cues. An illustration of a farmer tending his coffee trees anchors the concept visually, focusing attention on the organically grown family-farm product link. The new look projects a warm, friendly, feeling to the consumer and has been well-received by customers, brokers, distributors and store buyers.