Shamrock Farms, a producer of flavored milk products, recently edged its way into cold brew coffee with this three-SKU line of “Coffee & Milk” drinks.

Available in Original, Mocha, and Vanilla varieties, Shamrock has covered all the bases of a standard flavored coffee lineup. As one might expect from a dairy producer, these products are very heavy on the milk; the coffee flavor is secondary. That being said, the quality of the coffee -- and its benefits over coffee that is hot-brewed -- are much harder to discern. But compared with other coffee-flavored milks, which often times use flavoring rather than brewed coffee, it’s a step above.

The flavors are straightforward, but mild, which is to say that there’s a big gap in chocolate flavor when comparing the Mocha product and traditional chocolate milk (we’d say the same for the Vanilla variety). The only downside is that the addition of flavor makes the already mild coffee flavor taste even milder.

Nutritionally, these products have 160-170 calories per 12 oz. bottle along with 4-5g of fat, 21-22g of sugar, and 5g of protein (as well as the standard added vitamin A and D that are in every milk product). The sugar content is definitely a bit high for our liking.

Packaging, which, like the rest of the product line, follows the playbook for dairy beverages, is where these drinks really need help. While the dairy case isn’t a place that is synonymous with great packaging design, some brands, such as Califia Farms, have raised the bar for the category. That being said, we feel as though Shamrock could do a much better job with these products, although it will really require a fresh approach rather than piecemeal adjustments.

Overall, this is a product line that feels like it’s going after the milk drinker rather than the coffee consumer. While the flavors are probably sufficient for that target demographic, it feels like it still needs improvement to capture a piece of the cold brew coffee segment.