One way that cafés can start to grow the market for their cold brew or nitro cold brew is by bottling it or canning it as an RTD option, or preparing their cold brew concentrate for customers to use to prepare their own drinks at home. These methods will preserve the drink for longer without compromising on its flavour and can be sold individually or even in bulk to a reseller, such as a local restaurant or gym. Trevor says that “I’ve seen it served in bulk with growlers (diluted or as a concentrate), or as a prepared beverage.”

Alex Maes is the Director of Coffee Operations at Revelator Coffee in Atlanta, Georgia, and did something similar. He says, “The cans are much less expensive to produce than the glass bottles were, and our distributors were asking for the cans, so we figured we’d give it a shot.” However, he mentions that the cost of the gas itself and additional labour must be considered and that depending on how much you’re planning to brew, you might need more space to store the dry and refrigerated kegs.

While this option might be suitable for smaller cafés, those wanting to expand to selling their RTD cold brew at convenience stores or through other distribution channels will need to consider several factors. They might need to partner with a bottling company to manage the manufacturing of their beverage and ensure it can undergo the production and pasteurization required to become shelf-stable. They’ll also need to invest in branding and physically distributing their products – which can be costly.