Coaltown Wins Branding SCA Coffee Design Award at World of Coffee 2026

This week we're at the World of Coffee 2026, the Specialty Coffee Association's premier European trade show, where coffee professionals from across the globe gather to discover new products, share ideas, build lasting connections and celebrate the very best in specialty coffee.

We're incredibly proud to be attending this year's event as winners of the 2026 SCA Coffee Design Awards in the Branding category. The SCA Coffee Design Awards recognise and archive the most inspirational design work from across the global coffee industry, celebrating the brands, designers and creative teams shaping the future of specialty coffee. To receive this recognition on an international stage is a huge honour for everyone involved.

Scott James, Founder, Coaltown Coffee, said: "Winning the World of Coffee Brand Design Award 2026 and being recognised by the Specialty Coffee Association on a global stage is an incredibly proud moment for Coaltown and for South Wales. It's proof that a brand built on purpose, community and exceptional coffee can compete with the very best in the world. We'd like to extend our sincere thanks to the Specialty Coffee Association and the judging panel for this recognition, as well as to our creative partners at Smörgåsbord and our in-house team, whose passion and dedication brought this vision to life."

DESIGN THAT TELLS OUR STORY

Our award-winning packaging is more than a visual refresh. It's a considered evolution designed with sustainability, quality and standout design at its core. Rather than redesigning for the sake of it, we focused on refining what already mattered, elevating how it's presented and creating a packaging system that better reflects the values behind every bag of coffee we roast.

PACKAGING WITH PURPOSE

Our new 200g, 1kg and 5kg coffee bags are crafted from GRS-certified, post-consumer recycled plastic, helping reduce environmental impact while keeping your coffee exactly as it should be: fresh, protected and full of flavour. Our 200g bags now feature a seal-lock closure, making it easy to reseal your coffee and keep it fresher for longer. Every material and finish has been chosen with intention. A rough matt texture creates a tactile, premium feel, while bold UV black and white gloss typography delivers striking contrast across our signature black packaging. The bags are also fully recyclable, ensuring sustainability sits alongside design rather than behind it.

Running through the range is our new Purpose Orange, inspired by the National Coal Board's iconic donkey jackets worn by miners throughout the 1960s to the 1980s. It's a colour that represents resilience, graft and working-class identity, providing a distinctive thread that connects our heritage with our future.

INTRODUCING THE 200G COFFEE BOX

Alongside the new bags we've introduced an optional 200g cardboard coffee box, designed to protect, present and endure. Made from fully recyclable 500 GSM board, it feels reassuringly substantial in the hand. The exterior features our embossed new logotype, while opening the box reveals a striking interior flooded entirely in Purpose Orange, creating an unexpected moment of discovery.

The box includes a clean tear-open mechanism that allows it to be opened without compromising its appearance, leaving a neat flap that tucks back into place when closed. Even its proportions have meaning. Inspired by the form of a traditional brick, the box allows customers to build and display their coffee collection while subtly referencing the industrial materials that shaped the communities where Coaltown began.

BUILT FOR THE ROAD AHEAD

Winning the SCA Coffee Design Award is recognition of a much bigger journey. Our new identity is the result of a long-standing creative partnership with Smörgåsbord, a relationship built over years of shared interests spanning coffee, clothing, vehicles and culture. In early 2025, the time felt right to formally join forces and shape the next chapter of Coaltown.

Rather than starting again, the focus was on thoughtful progression. The heart of Coaltown already existed. Together we revisited the brand's foundations, refined its purpose and developed a visual framework capable of carrying Coaltown confidently into the future.

Typography became central to that evolution. Smörgåsbord introduced Successor by Commercial Type as our primary typeface, a slab-serif inspired by nineteenth-century English letterforms from the height of industrial printing. It reflects the era that shaped Wales' coal communities while providing the flexibility and consistency needed for a modern specialty coffee brand.

Our colour palette continues to be led by Coaltown Black, complemented by a series of deep, restrained tones inspired by our House Coffee range. Woven throughout is Purpose Orange, bringing warmth, meaning and unmistakable character across every touchpoint.

Nick Haimes, Creative Director, Coaltown Coffee, said: "This award is recognition that great design goes beyond aesthetics. It tells a story and communicates what a brand stands for. From the outset, we wanted Coaltown's identity to reflect our heritage, our purpose and our ambition to redefine what coffee can achieve. To have that recognised by the Specialty Coffee Association on a global stage is an incredibly proud moment for our team and everyone involved in the project."

ROOTED IN AMMANFORD. BUILT ON PURPOSE.

Everything recognised by this award traces back to why Coaltown exists in the first place.

Ammanford, our hometown in South West Wales, was built on anthracite coal, the original Black Gold that powered communities for generations. When the last colliery closed in 2003, the town lost more than an industry. It lost part of its identity. Coaltown was founded to help reignite that sense of purpose by creating a new kind of Black Gold: coffee. In 2018, machines began to hum once again, not underground, but inside our roastery.

Dylan Griffith Co-founder & Creative Director at Smörgåsbord said: "Working with Scott and the team at Coaltown to evolve the brand was a hugely rewarding challenge. In a crowded, visually sophisticated sector, the goal was to create distinction without compromising authenticity. We refined Coaltown's genuine story into a sharper, more compelling narrative that resonates with its loyal audience while supporting its next stage of growth. The brand's sense of 'purpose' became the foundation for every design decision, creating a clear strategic thread that informed the identity at every level".

This award celebrates far more than beautiful packaging. It recognises a brand built on heritage, craftsmanship, sustainability and community. Every bag, every box and every design decision tells that story. As we win our World of Coffee 2026 prestigious international award, we're incredibly proud to represent Wales, our hometown of Ammanford and everyone who has been part of Coaltown's journey so far.