RIP Cold Brew Aims To Compete With Energy Drinks, Marketing Itself As 'Fourth Wave' Coffee – CoffeeTalk

RIP Cold Brew is a new coffee brand that aims to compete with energy drinks and other caffeinated beverages, particularly energy drinks. The brand aims to cater to the active overachiever demographic who have limited cold brew options that match their lifestyles. Despite the popularity of third-wave coffee roasters’ concentrates, which are packaged in glass and need to be refrigerated, RIP Cold Brew introduces itself as a ready-to-drink option for the on-the-go lifestyle.

The brand sets itself apart by offering a variety of caffeine levels and embracing the ‘fourth wave’ of coffee, heavily focusing on the lifestyle component. The name RIP Cold Brew means “Reap Infinite Potential,” not “You’re dead,” but the complete opposite: “Reap Infinite Potential.” Cofounders Ashmer Aslam and Andrew Sawyer bring their business experience to the table, while fellow cofounder Brendan Flannery contributes his knowledge of the coffee industry.

The cold brew shelf is slowly becoming quite saturated, with premium roasters like Stumptown, Blue Bottle, and Groundwork taking up a large segment. RIP Cold Brew seized on the opportunity to reimagine ready-to-drink coffee, targeting people with active lifestyles, such as mountain biking, skateboarding, or playing sports in the regions they hail from: Boulder, Colorado, and the San Francisco Bay Area.

RIP Cold Brew barely considers barista-adjacent coffee beverages its competition. Flannery says that one of their goals is to position themselves against the existing coffee category and other caffeinated beverages, largely referring to energy drinks. Cold brew concentrates are not ready-to-drink, and RIP Cold Brew is simply cold brew coffee that is pre-diluted with water, ready to drink the moment you crack the can open.

The brand aims to differentiate itself from traditional high-end coffee products by offering a unique and exciting experience. The brand’s branding strategy, led by Max Hofert, creative director of Max Hofert Design and Powerbomb, focuses on pairing the coffee with extreme sports activities, creating a feeling of life and energy. The brand uses a rainbow of highlighter colors, from hot pink to neon green, to create a unique and memorable experience for its customers.

The brand also incorporates 80’s skate and surf culture into its branding, aiming to build community through its use-occasion. The company’s photography style features motion blur, reflecting its portability. RIP plans to use this unique branding approach to market its product at music festivals, extreme sporting events, and local cycling clubs.

In addition to its coffee offerings, RIP Cold Brew also plans to innovate in different ways, rolling out different varieties with different caffeine levels over time. This will signal the energy drink market as its main competitor, with lower caffeine levels potentially competing with beverages like tea. The first RIP Cold Brew to hit shelves is a turquoise 12oz can with about 260mg of caffeine, compared to a cold brew of the same size, which typically has about 200mg.

To market itself to those with an active lifestyle, RIP plans to make the product shelf-stable. As the product develops over time, RIP will likely incorporate some type of shelf-stable milk options to future SKUs. However, they recognize the need to make a statement about who the brand is and want to capture the market that they think is there.

While the Guatemalan-sourced medium-to-light roast has notes of dark chocolate, RIP plans to introduce flavors to some extent, but in a non-traditional way. They see opportunity in flavor-infused beans, but they believe that coffee is due for the same type of flavor innovation that can be seen in adjacent categories like sparkling water.

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