Announcement of Good Design Award

October 15, 2025

Our coffee label won the Good Design Award in 2025.

Our store is still small, and the manager is the sole manager in charge of running it. We also face many challenges that come with being a specialist in e-commerce, and we are constantly making improvements.

One thing we were particularly particular about was the label design. This is the fourth generation of the label design, and we came up with the idea of adding functionality to the label to solve the disadvantage of e-commerce, where you can't actually touch the product.

This is something that is often done at other stores, but the basis is to express the flavor of the coffee through color. However, if you do that, beans with similar characteristics will end up with labels of the same color (this was the third-generation label, and Alala and others still use this label today).
So the manager looked at the notes from cupping tests, which generally said things like, "The flavor changes like this as the coffee cools." So he wondered, what if he could create a two-dimensional gradation of the aroma and flavor of the freshly brewed coffee and the aroma and flavor felt after it had cooled?

This is how the fourth generation 2D flavor expression label system was born.

But it doesn't end there. In a one-person e-commerce business, you have to do all the work by yourself, from purchasing to shipping. Therefore, you are required to streamline your work as much as possible.
We've set up a system whereby these labels are printed on-demand within the roastery for each shipment. This eliminates the need to outsource label printing, and also eliminates the need to stock pre-printed labels. By entering the roasting date, you can set the expiration date on the back label to any period you like, and we believe the judges also appreciated the fact that this system is designed to reduce the tedious work involved in shipping.

How to read the label

Our store's label shows the aroma and flavor composition perceived at any given time on the horizontal axis, and the passage of time from top to bottom on the vertical axis.

At a glance at the label, you can tell whether the flavor is nutty or fragrant, fruity, or floral.
For example, if you like fruity coffee but wonder if there are any other beans available, you can choose a coffee with a label that resembles the label of the coffee you usually drink, and you can try a coffee with a similar character but a different personality.

This label is also useful when you are sending beans to a coffee lover but don't know much about coffee yourself. If you know the type of coffee they usually drink, you can simply choose beans with a label that has a similar image.

Of course, the front label only provides minimal information such as color and origin, so the back label lists the flavor and character notes together, allowing you to better understand the beans.

Although our store is aimed at coffee enthusiasts, we would like to continue to support those who want to try brewing their own coffee in various ways so that they can shop with confidence.