Some collaborations make sense from the very beginning. Kahlúa is the world’s leading coffee liqueur, made with rum and 100% arabica coffee beans from Veracruz, Mexico. Dunkin’ is the largest coffee and doughnut chain in the United States, with its iconic Caramel Swirl among its most beloved flavors. When Pernod Ricard announced the collaboration between the two brands through Kahlúa Dunkin’ Caramel Swirl Cream Liqueur, described as “Dunkin’s first cream liqueur and Kahlúa’s largest investment in the cream category to date” (Dunkin’ News, 2025), the question was not whether it would work. It was how to introduce it.Kahlúa is the world’s best-selling coffee liqueur, available in more than 150 countries, recognized with a Gold Award from the International Wine & Spirit Competition, and part of the Pernod Ricard portfolio. Ecoware, a division of AIM, manufactures cups and promotional products using a biopolymer incorporating agave fiber, a byproduct of Mexico’s tequila industry, as a functional and sustainable alternative to conventional plastic.
“Kahlúa is famous for great-tasting Espresso Martinis, and now we’re stirring up everyday occasions with Dunkin’ for something special,” said Caroline Begley, Vice President of Marketing at Kahlúa (Dunkin’ News, 2025). That statement captures the spirit of the launch: a premium cocktail brand seeking to become part of everyday occasions. The challenge was not simply to formulate a new product, but to find a way to bring it to consumers with the same warmth that Dunkin’ brings to every cup of coffee.
In this context, sampling activations played a central role in the launch strategy. The first sip is always the most important. It determines whether consumers will look for the bottle again in a store. And that first sip needed a cup worthy of its contents: a blend of toffee, vanilla, dulce de leche, coffee, and chocolate that had received a Gold Award even before reaching store shelves (The Spirits Business, 2025).
A generic disposable plastic cup was ruled out from the beginning. Not because it would fail to serve its purpose, but because it contradicted everything the launch sought to communicate: indulgence with purpose, premium quality with warmth, and innovation rooted in heritage. Kahlúa needed a tasting cup that would say something about the brand before anyone tasted what was inside. aimww.com
Ecoware, through AIM, designed and produced the 3.5 oz Agave Taster Cup for the Kahlúa & Dunkin’ activations: a tasting cup made from a biopolymer partially composed of agave fibers, with single-color screen printing in one position within a 3.5 × 3.5 cm print area.
The cup weighs 8 grams and has a wall thickness of 1 mm. With a top diameter of 5.9 cm, a bottom diameter of 3.5 cm, and a height of 5.5 cm, it fits comfortably in the hand during a standing tasting, without feeling awkward or oversized for the occasion. This is not a cup for sitting down with a full drink. It is a cup for the moment when someone decides whether they want to know more about what they have just tasted.
The packaging consists of a cardboard box containing 100 cups and measuring 13 × 13 × 21 cm, designed to support activations taking place at multiple locations simultaneously. It is a box that field teams can transport, open, and use without complications at a bar activation, an in-store tasting, or a launch event.
The agave fiber in the biopolymer is not a marketing argument added afterward. It is part of the cup’s construction. The slightly grainy texture against the fingers, the material’s warm, earthy tone, and the way light passes through it differently than through a transparent plastic cup all communicate something before the Kahlúa & Dunkin’ logo is even readable. They communicate that this is no ordinary product.
In the context of a launch where Pernod Ricard explicitly aligned the collaboration with its sustainability objectives (CoffeeFactz, 2025), serving the sample in a cup made with Mexican agave fiber was not a coincidence. It was a consistent choice.
The Kahlúa & Dunkin’ activations featuring the Agave Taster Cup achieved what every well-executed tasting seeks: making the cup part of the experience, rather than merely its container.
The first result was complete sensory consistency. Kahlúa Dunkin’ Caramel Swirl Cream Liqueur features notes of toffee, vanilla, and dulce de leche over a coffee-and-rum base (Food & Beverage Magazine, 2025). Serving it in a cup with a warm texture and plant-derived content, carrying a single-color graphic on naturally brown biopolymer, amplified the sensory experience before the first sip. As soon as consumers touched the cup, they were already entering the world of the product, not the world of generic plastic.
The second result was a consistent premium presentation. “This collaboration blends premium indulgence with everyday coffee culture,” explained Brian Gilbert, Vice President of Business Development at Dunkin’ (Dunkin’ News, 2025). The agave cup reflected precisely that idea: indulgent in its material, approachable in its form. It is not fine glassware from an upscale bar, but neither is it a generic disposable cup handed out at a checkout counter. It occupies the same middle ground that the product represents.
The third result was conversation around the material. At premium beverage activations, a consumer who asks, “What is this cup made of?” is the most valuable consumer of the afternoon. That person is already engaged and wants to know more. The agave fiber visible in the biopolymer prompted precisely those questions, opening a conversation about the Mexican origins behind the experience: the arabica coffee from Veracruz in Kahlúa and the agave in the biopolymer. An origin story that reinforced the product’s own story without requiring an additional display.
The fourth result was smooth field operation. With 100 cups per box in a compact 13 × 13 × 21 cm format, the activation team could manage its cup inventory as smoothly as it managed the beverage. There were no storage complications, difficult-to-stack pieces, or lengthy preparation times before each tasting session. The cups arrived ready to use and were put into service seamlessly at each activation. aimww.com
There is a moment in the life cycle of every new product that cannot be recreated: the first sip. The one that happens at an activation, during a tasting, or at a trade show booth. That moment determines whether the product takes on a life of its own in the consumer’s memory or fades among the other samples they tried that day.
The Agave Taster Cup does not compete with the product. It sets the stage for it. The texture of the biopolymer, the warmth of the agave’s natural tone, and the precise weight of 8 grams in the hand all create the right setting for the product to speak for itself. And when the product is as thoughtfully crafted as Kahlúa Dunkin’ Caramel Swirl Cream Liqueur, the cup’s role is simply not to get in the way.
For brands launching high-profile collaborations, for companies that care about every detail of how their products are introduced, and for activations where the consumer’s first contact with the product happens through a tasting, the cup matters. Not as the main attraction, but as the place where the magic happens.
At Ecoware, we design, develop, and manufacture tasting products incorporating agave fiber for brands that understand that the experience begins before consumers taste the product. Contact us at ecoware.bio, and let’s create the piece your launch needs together.
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