Taika

Taika, makers of RTD functional plant-based coffees, recently announced the launch of two new flavors: Matcha Latte, a permanent addition to the flavor lineup, and a Pumpkin Spice Latte that is their first limited time offering.

The original three flavor Taika lineup positioned each SKU differently, ranging from using oat milk or macadamia milk, and even a straight black coffee. With these two new flavors featuring macadamia milk, has Taika perhaps decided where they want to focus going forward? 

In addition to both SKUs having a macadamia milk base, the products share a somewhat similar functional blend of MCT oil, ashwagandha, pea protein, L-theanine, and lion’s mane, reishi, and cordyceps mushroom extracts. Both products also 80 calories, 0 grams of sugar and 2 grams of protein per 8 oz can.

After that, the two products diverge. The Matcha variety uses organic ceremonial grade matcha tea and is sweetened with erythritol and monk fruit, which does a nice job of providing a subtle sweetness without any aftertaste. There’s a lightly grassy note to it, which is exactly what is expected from any good matcha beverage. The macadamia milk base is creamy but smooth and the added functional ingredients seem to be more or less masked. 

For the Pumpkin Spice Latte flavor, Taika has done a nice job of creating a product that has solid flavor and avoids the gimmicky candy flavor that plagues so many pumpkin spice products. There’s definitely some pumpkin-like flavor to it, but it doesn’t get in the way of this being a really enjoyable tasting coffee drink either. It feels like more of a “fall spice” drink rather than something that’s trying to slam your palate with pumpkin.  The macadamia milk also does a nice job of complementing the other flavors.

On the packaging front, each product has a slightly different approach to its respective labels. Matcha’s front panel follows the format of their original SKUs, which is centered around a phone number. This is the primary means of communication with Taika and is how consumers can order the product. On the other hand, Pumpkin Spice Latte doesn’t have the phone number on the front of the can (it’s off to the side) and instead has a circle filled with the words “limited edition.” 

For us, the placement of a phone number on the front of the can has always felt like somewhat of a temporary move that might evolve as the company narrows its focus or as technology trends change. To that end, we were pleased to see Pumpkin Spice Latte going outside the box a bit. However, we’re not so sure that “limited edition” should get more prominence than the actual flavor name.

Going back to the Matcha for a moment, we do feel that its visual execution is strong. The phone number is a part of the plan for now and we’re fine with that — and the green color used for the background certainly stands out from the coffee SKUs.

Overall, there’s a lot to like about Taika’s most recent additions. Both products have excellent flavor, deliver on trend functional ingredients, and look like polished modern products.

Taika is a new line of 9.5 oz. ready to drink coffee beverages that describes itself as “the world’s first perfectly calibrated coffee.” The three-SKU line, which is sold direct-to-consumers via the company’s website, features formulations that are enhanced with adaptogens and functional mushrooms while still providing smooth flavor.

The initial three offerings include Black Coffee, Oat Milk Latte and Macadamia Latte. While the Black Coffee variety is unsweetened and contains zero calories, the other two products are sweetened with monk fruit and allulose. There are 70 calories in Oat Milk Latte and 90 calories in Macadamia Latte. 

The functional ingredients for these products include L-theanine, ashwagandha, lion’s mane, cordyceps, and reishi. The Macadamia Latte also contains MCT oil and both of the lattes have added vitamin A, D2, and B12. 

And of course, they all contain caffeine to the tune of 130mg per can. As compared to the other ingredients, this is the most understood and immediately effective functional ingredient in these drinks. The company claims to have a patent pending process that allows them to control the caffeine content, which results in this product coming in with about 25% less caffeine than standard brewed coffee. 

When it comes to taste, Taika has done a really nice job formulating these products. With a bold and smooth flavor and  a slight earthy note to its finish, the Black variety can definitely hold its own against other RTD coffee products. 

But it’s really the lattes that proved to be the more interesting flavors of the bunch. We really like the use of macadamia milk, which gives the product some richness and also a subtle nutty note. The monk fruit and allulose, which is a lesser known keto friendly sweetener, gives the product a light sweetness without any aftertaste. Plus, both of these SKUs have a nice balance between the “milk” and the coffee.

Still, if we had to pick a winner based on flavor, we’d probably go with Macadamia Latte. We really like the nut flavor and it tastes a bit cleaner than the oat milk. However, we think that oat milk is going to be more marketable and we question whether they need both of these SKUs in the long run.

Visually, the can design takes the unusual approach of making a phone number the key visual element on its packaging. This phone number takes up about 50% of the front panel real estate starting at the top. Below that, you’ll find the Taika logo, a tagline of “coffee that conjures clarity, the SKU name, and a small callout for the drink’s sweetener status (“no sugar added,” “no sugar,” or “ unsweetened” depending on the SKU).

From a design perspective, there’s something about having a phone number as the key design element that feels jarring and distracting. For a brand that’s relying exclusively on DTC, we understand why they are doing it as it creates a call to action of sorts, but it also has a slightly temporary feel to it; It feels like it  emphasizes how to buy it when the consumer is still asking themselves “what is it?” While this is an okay place for the brand to be at launch, we think it’s going to need to be flipped at some point.

In the end, Taika is an enjoyable and well executed effort to create a functional take on RTD coffee. While we definitely have some questions about the approach to the label and see a need for additional SKUs, this is a nice start.