Lucky Jack Coffee Launches Oatmilk Latte Line

Las Vegas-based cold brew maker Lucky Jack Coffee has launched a canned line of Nitro Cold Brew Lattes made with oat milk, the brand’s first shelf stable innovation targeted at expanding its presence in the convenience channel.

The lattes are available in Caramel, Golden Milk + Turmeric, Mocha and Vanilla varieties and each 7.5 oz. can contains 130mg of caffeine, 4-5 grams of sugar and 80 calories or less. The brand produces its own oat milk in-house. The line will retail for $3.49 per can or $29.99 for a 12-pack.

According to Lucky Jack CEO Raymond Cole, moving to a shelf-stable product will help the brand reach previously untapped markets, including convenience retail, events, international sales and ecommerce direct-to-consumer. The lattes launched online this month through the brand’s website and Amazon.

Cole called oat milk the “Goldilocks” of latte ingredients (meaning it’s ‘just right’) citing the plant-based dairy alternative’s rapid growth over the past few years. In addition to providing a vegan option for consumers, he said Lucky Jack decided to use oat milk due to its superior flavor and lack of major allergens. Combined with the drink’s callouts to low sugar and organic coffee, Cole said he believes the line satisfies a number of current consumer trends.

“It continues on with our reputation of having the best coffee beverages, but also gives us a line extension for distribution that we didn’t have before,” Cole said.

The lattes are now rolling out to select retailers in Los Angeles and New York, including Sprouts, Whole Foods and CVS, as well as several club stores. In CVS, Cole said the line will be available in select West Coast stores in the innovation cooler set.

The launch comes hot on the trail of a brand refresh, which saw Lucky Jack redesign the packaging of its existing product line in Q3 2020. For its cold chain RTD nitro coffees, the brand unveiled new labels, an updated logo and a new easier-to-use cap on the bottles. The current product line features Old School, Triple Jack (with espresso), Sweet Thing (with added cane sugar) and Mocha flavors. The refresh also extended to the company’s multiserve concentrate line, which comes in Black, Caramel, Mocha and Vanilla varieties.

The company has also begun developing seasonal flavors, beginning with a Pumpkin Spice in RTD and concentrate varieties which was available in Sprouts last fall. Cole said the seasonal play was successful and Lucky Jack will continue to develop new flavors, including a potential summer variety.

In addition to seasonals, Cole said Lucky Jack plans to launch additional permanent flavors to the latte line later this year.

“The logo and the look and feel were a few years old and we wanted to bring it into a more modern look,” Cole said. “The cap was a big part of it. We’re known for our cap and the cap that we’re using now is a more modern look. It’s still got a retro feel, but it’s combining the modern technology in a cap closure with that retro style.”

Lucky Jack’s core products are available in 48 states, including Kroger, Publix, Whole Foods, Sprouts and Costco stores. The brand is distributed through UNFI, KeHE and a network of DSD distributors.

Like most companies, Cole said Lucky Jack faced challenges last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in its supply chain and distribution. However, although sales declined, Cole said it was “not by much.”

“Overall, we’re pretty happy with where we were and how we got through COVID,” he said. “We’re pretty pleased with the way our customers sought us out and continued to buy Lucky Jack throughout 2020 and throughout the whole pandemic. “