When you think about coffee culture, Seattle, Rome, or Paris might spring to mind. But making waves throughout the UK is Japanese coffee culture, as Ueshima Coffee Company, Japan’s no.1 coffee brand, is now the fastest growing coffee brand in the UK, with 670% year on year volume growth.
Celebrating 90 Years
Established in Kobe in 1933, Ueshima Coffee Company celebrates 90 years in business this year. On a mission to pioneer Japanese coffee culture across Europe, Ueshima is encouraging consumers to slow down and take time to enjoy the natural flavours of the drink and the drinking experience, as they do in Japan.
Custodians of the history of Japanese coffee, Ueshima coffee is driven by three founding principles: craftsmanship, innovation, and sustainability, dedicating itself to coffee perfection for over nine decades.
New Sustainable Packaging
Aside from Ueshima’s coffee being 100% Rainforest Alliance Certified, their coffee beans and ground packaging are now being phased into a mono PP material (mono poly propylene), which is 100% recyclable at large supermarkets. This move will help to tackle the hundreds of thousands of aluminium capsules, coffee pouches and sachets that end up in landfill because they are difficult to recycle.
100% recycled cardboard and water-based inks are also used, which are much gentler on the environment than traditional plastisol inks. The delivery boxes can be recycled with all other household paper and cardboard.
Ueshima has also partnered with Podback, the pod recycling service, to provide consumers with an easy way to recycle their used coffee pods. Consumers can order free recycling bags which, depending on where they live, can either be recycled as part of their local authority’s regular recycling service, or returned via one of the 6,500 Yodel Stores drop off points located across the UK.
Pods collected through Podback are recycled in the UK, giving them a second life as long-lasting and useful products, such as beverage cans and supermarket crates. The coffee grounds are used to create renewable energy (biogas) and soil improver.
Shoppers can purchase the range of Ueshima coffee at 380 Sainsbury’s sites, 280 Waitrose & Partners, Ocado, Harvey Nichols, Harrods, Booths or directly at www.ueshimacoffeecompany.com. Each blend is available in coffee beans, roast and ground coffee, coffee bags and Nespresso® compatible aluminium capsules.
