Pact Coffee responds to growing decaf trend with speciality-grade pods

Pact Coffee has expanded its Waitrose offer with speciality-grade decaf pods.

Pact Coffee’s Bourbon Cream Decaf Pods (rsp: £5/10 pods) were developed in response to customer feedback and growing interest in decaf coffee among consumers, according to the supplier. They are the only speciality-grade decaf coffee listed by Waitrose.

Pact said sales of decaf coffee on its DTC site were up by 200% year on year.

New consumer research it had undertaken showed the segment represented a “huge opportunity”, it added.

“Decaf drinkers have historically been sold a large amount of stale, low-grade coffee given a false lease of life through the decaffeination process,” said Will Corby, Pact Coffee’s director of coffee. “Recently, we conducted new consumer research that found that not only have half of consumers bought decaffeinated coffee to drink at home in the last six months, but a further seven in 10 said they’d be more likely to drink decaffeinated coffee if there were more good-quality options readily available.

“Bringing a speciality-grade decaf to Waitrose shelves and giving its customers more caffeine-free options to choose from is a really exciting moment for us, and hopefully for consumers who have been waiting for a better-tasting decaffeinated coffee to enjoy too.”

Originally a DTC retailer, Pact Coffee made its grocery debut in Waitrose in 2023, and added listings in Whole Foods and Ocado in 2024.