Inside the Apffels warehouse in Southern California. Press photo by NuZee.
Texas-based coffee co-packing and single-serve manufacturer Nuzee has entered into a manufacturing agreement with longtime southern California-based coffee roasting company Apffels Fine Coffees.
NuZee declined to disclose the financial terms of the arrangement. A company representative told DCN that the company plans to further expand its manufacturing footprint through a similar partnership coming to Tennessee. NuZee also manufactures products near its headquarters in Richardson, Texas, and in South Korea.
According to Nuzee, the deal involves an investment in Apffels existing manufacturing facilities. In addition to roasting coffees for wholesale and private-label clients, 108-year-old Apffels maintains co-packing and other production facilities at its headquarters in Santa Fe Springs, in southeast Los Angeles County.
The NuZee representative told DCN that the agreement will also result in NuZee expanding its product portfolio to include roasted coffees.
The Apffels headquarters. Press photo by NuZee.
NuZee makes and sells single-serve coffee bags for steeping applications. The company last year also acquired Dripkit, a maker of single-serve, single-use pourover coffee packages.
“NuZee is investing in Apffel’s manufacturing space, expanding its capabilities with specialized equipment specific to producing single serve pour over and brew bags,” NuZee said in an announcement of the deal on March 7.
The partnership is also expected to result in the testing and manufacturing of a coffee bag sealing technology under the brand name Timeless (styled “TiMELESS” by NuZee).
Inside the Apffels warehouse in Southern California. Press photo by NuZee.
Involving microscopic channels in the sealing film of packaging, the Timeless technology is pitched as an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional one-way degassing valves, which allow packaged, roasted coffees to keep fresh while letting off gases that occur naturally during roasting. One-way valves are typically made of plastic and are often not recyclable or reusable.
The Timeless technology was developed in 2018 in Japan by Tokyo-based MIB Co. in collaboration with the multinational plastics, materials and chemical company Nagase & Co. NuZee says it plans to introduce the technology to the United States and Mexico markets through an existing joint marketing agreement.
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