Four reasons to choose carton packaging for ready-to-drink coffee

In the fast-paced world of ready-to-drink (RTD) coffee, packaging plays a vital role in delivering quality, convenience and sustainability – factors that consumers increasingly prioritize. Our carton packaging offers an eye-catching solution for your RTD coffee brand, ensuring that product quality is preserved, consumption is problem-free and environmental impact is minimized.​

Research indicates that RTD coffee drinkers care about quality; that the product flavour (taste and aroma) are the keys to enjoyment. This holds true across the board, mass to premium products.

Woman in store, blue box 58%
58% of budget-conscious consumers emphasize the importance of maintaining quality in RTD coffee when considering more affordable options1.
Women with tablet, blue box 65%
65% of Millennials and busy professionals are willing to pay a premium for superior quality RTD coffee2.

How our packages protect quality

Choosing aseptic carton packaging

100% airtight, and made with an alu-foil barrier, our aseptic packages lock in the aroma, flavour, and freshness of your RTD coffee without the need for refrigeration or preservatives. They protect your product from oxidization, as well as from any other external contaminants which may cause off-flavours. What’s more, there is no risk of off-flavours from the package itself.

Choosing chilled carton packaging

Packages for chilled distribution, such as the many sizes and formats of the much-loved Tetra Top and Tetra Rex packages, offer many of the same quality advantages as our aseptic packages.. The difference is they enable a shelf-life of days rather than months. However, with Extended Shelf Life (ESL) production processes, products can be consumed safely for up to one month.
Illustration, gable top carton package
Protects from external off-flavours
Illustration, coffee beans

Protects against oxidisation

Package illustration, carton layers

Aluminium foil layer provides a light and oxygen barrier

Given the number of products competing for consumers’ attention on the supermarket shelves, it’s not easy to make your products stand out. Naturally, as a producer, you want to make the most of every tool available to differentiate your brand.

360° printable surfaces
Starting with 360° printable surfaces, our carton packages provide the perfect blank canvas upon which to communicate what your brand stands for.

Printing techniques

Whether you need detailed photographic imagery or simple flexography, we offer innovative, tailored printing solutions. Check out Tetra Pak® Custom Printing - the agile, cost-effective technique for customising your package designs. It allows you to print smaller minimum orders and explore new business and marketing opportunities.

Coffee in Tetra Prisma Aseptic carton package

Printing techniques

Whether you need detailed photographic imagery or simple flexography, we offer innovative, tailored printing solutions. Check out Tetra Pak® Custom Printing - the agile, cost-effective technique for customising your package designs. It allows you to print smaller minimum orders and explore new business and marketing opportunities.
Tetra Pak cartons, different packaging material types

Customisable effects

The Tetra Pak® Artistry portfolio takes your package differentiation a step further with customisable effects, patterns and designs that can help your products stand out. Available for a growing range of packages in many shapes and sizes, these effects require no installation or investment at your own site. The packaging material is delivered ready to use.

Convenience is one of the most important lifestyle trends influencing consumption decisions today. For time-crunched younger consumers, what could be better than an energy-boosting RTD coffee in a handy on-the-go portion package? It’s the perfect, stress-free pick-me-up.

45% of Generation Z and 50% of Millennials are influenced by convenience claims when buying ​food & beverages.2

54% of Millennials and busy professionals prioritise convenient packaging3.

Woman with tablet and coffee drink, blue box 54%

Tetra Pak carton packaging satisfies the need for convenience in three key ways:

Illustration Tetra Prisma Aseptic carton, easy to hold

1. Safe, lightweight and easy to carry, our portion packages are perfect for on-the-go consumption. Resealable caps prevent the risk of leakage after opening.

Illustration Tetra Prisma Aseptic carton top, DreamCap opening

2. Easy to open and drink from, our single-serve packages ensure drinking comfort with excellent product flow. Take a close look at the Tetra Prisma® Aseptic 250 ml with a DreamCap™ 26 opening, for example.

Illustration, 3 Tetra Prisma Aseptic carton packages

3. Convenience and safety in e-commerce. With the share of online edible grocery sales3 out of modern retail channels4 expected to grow globally from 10.2% to 12.9% by 20305, having robust, lightweight packaging is becoming more important than ever.

The importance of sustainability is increasing, with 75% of consumers claiming that they are concerned about environmental issues​.6 And they are not just thinking short-term. 60% cite that their sustainable purchase decisions are motivated by a ‘desire to preserve the environment for future generations.6

Woman in grocery store, green box 64 %
64% of consumers are willing to pay more for an RTD Coffee which features sustainable production claims6.
Tetra Prisma carton package, Be natural design, green box 44 %
44% of RTD Coffee consumers prioritise eco-friendly packaging when making purchasing decisions6.

Tetra Pak® carton credentials

Consumers most often associate our carton packaging with being easy to flatten for disposal and recyclable.​ Let’s look at the facts:

Recyclability:

Recyclability:

Our carton packages are recyclable wherever adequate collection, sorting and recycling infrastructures are in place, at scale.

Raw materials:

Raw materials:

Our cartons are made from responsibly-sourced, renewable materials, like paperboard and plant-based polymers, that grow back and absorb CO₂ as they do so.

Using such renewable raw materials allows us to reduce the package’s carbon footprint.

Recycled materials:

Recycled materials:

In 2020, we introduced certified recycled polymers, further decreasing reliance on virgin, fossil-based materials, and helping to keep plastic out of landfills and the environment.

Plant-based materials:

Plant-based materials:

The use of packaging materials made with Bonsucro-certified plant-based polymers increases the renewable content of our packages and reduces ​CO2 emissions.

Tethered caps:

Tethered caps:

Designed to stay attached to the package, those opening devices are helping to prevent plastic litter. (Note, this is a regulatory requirement in the EU).

Consumers already perceive carton ​as the most sustainable type of packaging, as the table below shows.6 But we want our future carton packaging to be even better!

The research results below show that consumers instinctively recognise carton as the most environmentally sound type of packaging.

graph rtd coffee packaging

MOST ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND PACKAGING TYPES

Carton package: 43%
Glass bottle: 34%
Plastic bottle: 8%
Metal can: 7%
Plastic pouch: 4%
Plastic cup: 3%

 

graph least sound packaging

LEAST ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND PACKAGING TYPES

Plastic bottle: 28%
Plastic pouch: 20%
Plastic cup: 16%
Metal can: 15%
Glass bottle: 13%
Carton package: 8%

That’s why we are continuously striving to move away from high-carbon, fossil-based materials and towards more low-carbon renewable ones by increasing the paper content of our packaging.

Our ambition is to develop “the world’s most sustainable food package”, which is paper-based, with the lowest possible carbon footprint, made solely from responsibly sourced renewable or recycled materials and fully recyclable.7

Unlock growth in ready-to-drink coffee

Ready to seize opportunities in the booming RTD coffee market? Gain expert insights, access cutting-edge processing and packaging solutions, and receive tailored marketing support to drive your success. Whether you’re new to the category or already an established brand, let’s work together to innovate and grow your business.

Get in touch with us!

Service engineers training

Have questions about our solutions and products, or need some expert advice? Our friendly team is here to help! Just fill out the form, and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

Purpose of contact

Error - please select one option that best describes your request

Business area of interest

Select one or more business areas
Error - please select business area of interest

Get in touch with us!

Summary

Purpose of contact
Business area of interest

Specific area of interest

Error - please select one option that best describes your request

Get in touch with us!

Summary

Purpose of contact
Business area of interest

Scope of request

Error - please select one option that best describes your request

Food category

Error - please select one option that best describes your request
  • Error - please select one option that best describes your request
  • Error - please select one option that best describes your request
  • Error - please select one option that best describes your request
  • Error - please select one option that best describes your request
  • Error - please select one option that best describes your request

Get in touch with us!

Summary

Purpose of contact
Business area of interest

Specific area of interest

Error - please select business area of interest

Get in touch with us!

Summary

Purpose of contact
Business area of interest
Specific area of interest
Scope of request
Food category

What describes your request the best

Error - please select one option that best describes your request
Please describe your enquiry using maximum 1000 characters. The message is mandatory.

Get in touch with us!

Summary

Purpose of contact
Business area of interest
Message
Specific area of interest
Scope of request
Food category
What describes your request the best
Your role

Company information

Enter your valid company e-mail address, such as example@company.com
First name is mandatory
Last name is mandatory
Phone number is mandatory. Please include country code.
The city of workplace is mandatory
Error - please select your country or region
The company name is mandatory

Thank you for your interest

Your request has been submitted to our teams and we will be in touch shortly. Please click on the button below if you want to submit another request or if you have another query for us.

Something went wrong!

Your request could not be sent at this time. Please try again later, or contact support if the issue persists

1. Source: ifeu2020: ''Comparative Lifecycle Assessment of Tetra Pak carton packages and alternative packaging systems for beverage and liquid food in the European market''
2. Innova Category Survey 2025, comprising over 57000 respondents across 35 countries.​
3. Edible grocery includes sales from food & beverage categories, including dry grocery (cereal, cookies, etc.), baby food and formula, perishables (fresh fruits & vegetables, protein, dairy, etc.), and drinks (water, soda, alcoholic beverages, etc.).
4. Modern retail channels include cash and carry/club; convenience; discount; e-commerce; hyperstores; supermarkets and neighborhood stores; others (including wholesale, other food specialists etc.).
5. Source: Flywheel Retail Insights, December 2025.
6. Tetra Pak® Sustainable Packaging Consumer Research 2025, comprising a total of 12,500+ consumer interviews based on an online questionnaire in 25 countries.
7. This means creating cartons that are fully made of renewable or recycled materials, that are responsibly sourced, thereby helping to protect and restore our planet's climate, resources and biodiversity; contributing towards low carbon production and distribution; are convenient and safe, therefore helping to enable a resilient food system; and are fully recyclable.