(PORTSMOUTH, VA-March 30, 2016) — Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA (MZB) will unveil its new Hills Bros.© Coffee single-serve format to markets across the nation this spring, but the innovation has already earned high praise within the industry. Store Brands magazine recently named the PURPOD100®, the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) certified 100 percent compostable single-serve coffee pods, to its list of winners in the magazine’s inaugural Editors’ Picks awards program. American consumers will be introduced to the award-winning compostable pod when Hills Bros.© coffee begins appearing on store shelves in Chicago in time for Earth Day on April 22. Developed by Club Coffee of Canada, the coffee pod has been certified 100 percent compostable by BPI, which verifies products meet ASTM specifications as tested at independent labs. “We’re ecstatic that the judges recognized the PURPOD100® and what it means for the entire single-serve category,” said Clay P. Dockery, division vice president of corporate brands for MZB USA. “Now consumers can enjoy the great taste and convenience of single-serve coffee without worrying about the environmental impact of plastic cups.” “The 100 percent certified compostable PURPOD100® is compatible with all K-Cup brewers but is designed to go back into the land, not the landfill,” Dockery said. “That’s great news for coffee drinkers and even better news for the environment.”
“The winning concepts are both on-trend and highly innovative,” said Kathie Canning, editorial director of Store Brands. “All of them aim to help retailers lead, not follow, with their own brands in various categories.” Editors’ Picks honorees will be profiled in the April 2016 issue of the Deerfield, Ill.-based Store Brands magazine. The magazine’s award program honors the best new product concepts made available for private labeling introduced between January 2015 and January 2016. A team of editors judged food and beverage entries based on taste/quality and innovation; non-food products were judged on innovation and functionality. According to the magazine’s Editors’ Picks award issue:
Described as the world’s first 100 percent compostable single-serve coffee pods, the PURPOD100® pods are made with all biomaterials and certified by the Biodegradable Products Institute. (Each pod’s ring is actually made with biomaterial and reclaimed coffee chaff — the skin of the coffee bean that comes off during the roasting process!) The pods are compatible with all K-Cup brewing systems and are said to return valuable nutrients to the soil. We all thought the coffee inside the pods was pretty darn good as well. “Love the packaging and love the smoothness of the coffee,” one taster stressed. “Love that the ring is made from the coffee bean skin,” another put forth. —StoreBrands magazine, April 2016
A full list of 2016 Editors’ Picks winners may be found on the magazine website, www.storebrands.info. Keurig® and K-Cup® are registered trademarks of Keurig Green Mountain, Inc. PῧrPod100™ is a trademark of Club Coffee Company, Inc., used under license. Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI), www.bpiworld.org BPI is the certifying body; testing is done by a separate third party to verify PURPOD100® meets requirements under ASTM 6868 standards. For Editors’ Picks information, please contact: Kathie Canning, Editorial Director, Store Brands magazine, 224-632-8233 kcanning@stagnitomail.com About Massimo Zanetti Beverage Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA is among the nation’s largest coffee roasters, with nationally recognized retail brands including Chock full o’Nuts®, Hills Bros.®, Segafredo Zanetti®, Kauai Coffee®, MJB® and Chase & Sanborn®. With its headquarters in Portsmouth, Virginia and state-of-the art manufacturing facility in Suffolk, Virginia, the company produces proprietary and private label coffee, tea and drink mix for customers in all retail and food service channels throughout North America and around the world. In addition, Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA franchises Chock full o’Nuts® Coffee Shops and Segafredo Zanetti Espresso® Cafés. Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA is part of the Massimo Zanetti Beverage Group, www.mzb-group.com, one of the world’s largest coffee group groups, comprised of nearly 40 companies operating in more than 35 countries. For more information, visit: www.mzb-usa.com.
