Picnik Butter Coffee (Discontinued)

Earlier this summer, Austin Tex.-based Picnik announced three flavor extensions to their line of MCT oil enhanced beverages: Extra Bold Coffee, Vanilla Latte, and Gold Milk Matcha.

With a fresh round of investment in their coiffers, extending their line of ready-to-drink beverages (along with a recently announced a line of creamers) seems like a pretty good idea. Why? Their first three offerings, which included Cappuccino, Dirty Chai, and Mocha, were nice tasting products, but the selection of flavors seemed to leave some gaps in terms of what one might expect from a line of RTD coffees.

These new SKUs fill in a critical void in Vanilla -- and we think they’ve done a very nice job working with a unique flavor profile. It's rich but smooth with just the right amount of coffee, vanilla, sweetness (from maple syrup, which adds its own flavor notes), and butter.

We’d say the same for Extra Bold, which has a hint of cocoa but is otherwise very coffee forward and doesn’t contain any added sweetener. It also has increased caffeine (160mg), although we think they should probably call that out on the front panel. Like the Vanilla, the added butter, whey protein, and MCT oil add some flavor and richness, but it’s very much kept in balance with the rest of the formulation.

Finally, there’s the Golden Milk Matcha, which is the most unique offering of the Picnik lineup. This product is vegan, so you won’t find butter or whey protein contained in it. Instead, they’ve used coconut cream in its place, effectively doubling down on MCT oil.  While it’s possibly the best tasting flavor in their line, it contains more sugar and less protein than the other SKUs.

Visually, these three flavors add some nice vibrant colors to the lineup, particularly with the green and purple labels. However, we’re not so sure that purple is the best color for a vanilla latte -- it certainly isn’t a color associated with coffee, vanilla, or any of the other ingredients, so it won’t help whet the palate. But using green for matcha is definitely spot on, while the blue and black colors used for Extra Bold will certainly work.

Beyond that, we think that the addition of a non-coffee flavor raises a new concern about the brand and the label used to describe it. It’s no longer fair to refer to this brand as “Picnik coffee” -- so what does one call it? We’d love to see Picnik tackle this head on with a clear tagline that helps the consumer quickly understand what the brand is all about.

Putting this aside, these three new SKUs are excellent additions to the lineup. Aside from each of the three being very tasty and sharp-looking,  we think that the depth that they add to the overall lineup will be beneficial to the brand as a whole.

We’ve seen a handful of companies attempt to create butter or MCT oil enhanced coffee products, but, whether intentionally or simply because of missteps in their packaging design, most of them have done so with a very technical and educated consumer as their target.

With it’s approachable and clean design and messaging, Picnik, which hails from Austin, Tex., seems poised to change that. Currently available in three flavors, Cappuccino, Mocha Latte, and Dirty Chai, the product is packaged in a 10 oz. bottle that’s fully wrapped with a brightly colored label that features a herringbone style design. The copy is simple and straightforward, with “butter coffee” being the main focal point. Secondary callouts for the protein content (a modest 10g per bottle) and MCT oil are there, but don’t get in the way.

What we like about this approach is that the butter, unlike MCT oil, is something that consumers can understand. Granted, most consumers probably have not mixed butter with their coffee, but it still provides something of a reference point. And making the functionality about protein content, which is what they’ve effectively done by putting it front and center on the label, is also way more tangible than the benefits of MCT. Combine that a beautiful label and we think that Picnik is starting off on the right foot.

As for what’s inside the bottle, which is ultimately what will determine if consumers come back for this product, there’s a high fat formulation that is rich and buttery in flavor. However, these products are not overly viscous, which is definitely a plus. All three of the flavors use maple syrup as their sweetener of choice. Nutritionally, the drinks have 210 - 310 calories per bottle, 17-18g of fat, and 10g of protein.

We started by sampling the Cappuccino variety, which is the lowest in sugar at 1g per bottle and, therefore, the best showcase for the coffee and butter flavors. The Mocha Latte is a riff on a staple RTD coffee flavor. It’s not overly chocolatey, which allows the butter flavor to still be quite dominant. Lastly, there’s the Dirty Chai, which has the most complex flavor of the trio. It’s basically a sweetened latte with chai spices added. After a few sips, this flavor grew on us quickly and made it our favorite of the bunch.

Overall, we really like what Picnik is setting out to do. It’s approachable, flavorful, and on-trend, which are certainly good attributes for any product. On top of that, we think it has meaningful differentiation from other RTD coffee entries that we’re seeing right now and it has some serious visual pop to it. That said, if butter coffee is to become a real part of the coffee category, this product definitely seems well positioned to be a player in it.