Packaging Update 2025: What’s Next for Kontext Coffee Bags?

If you've been following our journey from the start, you know that packaging has always been a deeply considered topic for us here at Kontext Coffee, and we have gone through quite a journey in weighing our options. Since the beginning, we've done our best to balance the practical needs of preserving coffee quality with our responsibility to reduce harm to the environment. If you are interested in the complete journey, please read our blog posts on Finding Sustainable Coffee Packaging and The Ups and Downs of Coffee Packaging.

So here’s the latest update: we had to make the difficult decision to move away from the omnidegradable® bags we've used for our 250g coffee packs and switch to new bags made from mono-material LDPE (low-density polyethylene) that includes 30% post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic.

Let’s unpack why we made this decision.

Why We’re Moving Away from Omnidegradable® Bags

We still think highly of the TekPak omnidegradable® material. It’s an innovative approach to dealing with plastic waste, designed to break down safely in landfill and even ocean environments. But over time, two key challenges have emerged:

• No UK distribution: These bags had to be flown in from Canada in relatively small quantities, which made transport inefficient and expensive.

• Rising minimum order quantities (MOQs): TekPak recently raised their MOQ to a level that no longer makes financial or logistical sense for us as a small roastery.

  
  

As much as we loved the concept, we couldn’t justify continuing with this solution under these new conditions.

Why We’re Moving to LDPE with Recycled Content

After going back to the research desk and weighing all our options, we’ve chosen a mono-material LDPE bag that includes 30% post-consumer recycled plastic. While plastic certainly isn’t our first choice when it comes to sustainable materials, here’s why we believe this is currently the most pragmatic option available to us:

• It’s recyclable: LDPE (plastic type 4) is accepted at soft plastic collection points across the UK. Check here to see whether this material is accepted for recycling at home or check for the next recycling point near you.

• It’s mono-material: Unlike typical multilayer coffee bags that are difficult to recycle, these bags are made from a single material and designed for easier processing.

• Post-consumer recycled (PCR) content reduces reliance on virgin plastic.

• It protects our coffee: LDPE gives us excellent barrier properties to maintain the quality, aroma, and freshness you expect from our beans.

It’s Complicated (Still)

As we’ve discussed in depth in our previous blog posts on this topic, product packaging is a very frustrating subject, and at this point in time there is simply no truly satisfactory packaging solution. Every option comes with trade-offs: compostables don’t always get composted, paper often needs plastic linings, and even the most innovative materials depend on how waste is managed locally.

We are fully aware that LDPE is still plastic. But we believe that being honest about what’s actually recyclable, what works in real-world systems, and what we can reasonably maintain as a small business is part of running a value-based, ethical business.

This isn’t the end of our search. . We are still hoping that in the medium and long term there will be better (in terms of quality) and even more sustainable (from renewable sources) solutions available.

What We’re Offering Now

• New 250g bags made from LDPE with 30% PCR plastic—resealable, durable, and recyclable.

• 600g paper-based bags from Sirane (UK-made, FSC-certified, plastic-free)—still available for retail customers as a refill-friendly option.

• Refill your own container at the Roastery Pop-Up and get a discount every Tuesday and Thursday, 9:30–14:30.

• Custom packaging-free solutions for some wholesale customers.

It's Still a Journey

We remain committed to:

• Using the best available options today

• Staying honest about their limitations

• Always keeping an eye out for something better tomorrow

  
  

What we have learned on our quest to uphold the values that guide us as a value-based business is that sometimes there isn’t a perfect answer. What is important is to keep asking better questions, again and again.

If you’ve read this far, thank you for trusting us to keep asking them.

— The Kontext Team