We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Alcindo Correa a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alcindo, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

I speak business before learn design. I used to work as a IT manager for a mining company and always interested in how my services will impact the business and how decisions are making when prioritizing on project over another. So I decided to learn about business and get a degree in Business and a post graduation in Marketing Strategy. I also have a long story with coffee as Brazilian, it is an important part of our social life, including business. We always have a coffee time when we need to discuss or solve a complex problem. When I moved from Brazil to US in 2014, I was trying to find a good coffee to drink and I found this coffee roaster in the farmers market, the conversation was so easy because of this background and this is how I started, In all my projects I use this business skill to understand the real problem and in which stage of a business my client is so I can deliver the correct solution for them.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

In 2014 My family moved from Brazil to Wisconsin. One day when I was seeking a good cup of coffee and I met this guy from Chile selling coffee in the Local Farmer’s Market. That time he was packing his awesome coffee in a brown bag with a stamp on it. Yes, They stamped their logo every week on each bag. Trying to explain my previous job as a product manager he asked me to design a new packaging for their coffee because of my computer skills. This is how my new business started and how they became a well successful business.

I identified a opportunity to fill this gap for other business and had to hurry with a improvised name since I didn’t agree with myself about a cool name at that time, so I decided to go with something basic as my initials+Creative+Studios. The studios name was because I had in mind to have a digital studio and a video production that never happened, and is not on my pipeline anymore.

After almost a decade we are a trusted partner for coffee and pet food brand, providing branding, packaging design, web design, and printing services. I’m proud to say that to date, we’ve delivered more than 932 projects, with 1M+ bags printed through our clients. Some of them still with us for 6 years.

All my services are oriented by some gap or need that I found in my client’s processes. I’ve learned from my previous experiences that we can save money and time using structured process and project management.

I always start a new project with a good definition of the product and who we will serve. I think the design results from solving the gap between the product and the final user. I call them users because it is all about user experience—from packaging to taste.

The funnest and most exciting part of the job is to know the story behind the product, and I heard a lot of inspirational ones. It is a challenge to tell the correct story through design, sometimes because we don’t know enough about who will listen to it and buy the coffee.

We must consider all the journeys and experiences around the product, from pricing to the touch. Working together with members of each project can make your packaging stand out from competitors. Having a good conversation about the entrepreneur and business is essential. I don’t talk about branding or style with them in the beginning, just about what story we will tell. I put all this conversation on my CRM (Customer Relationship Management software), where I have my process and data organized.

This year we did a rebrand to Inkroast. InkRoast is the evolution of a decade-long journey in branding and packaging
design. The new name blends our core values — creativity (Ink) and passion for the coffee world (Roast). With a fresh identity and the same heart, we’re continuing to help businesses tell their stories through design, in all business stages.

As a Brazilian guy we have a strong connection with coffee since I was a kid. It is part of our daily routine hanging out with our co-workers and friends for a cup of coffee after lunch. I like de idea of having a brand with multicultural background bringing spicy elements of Latin America to North America.

Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?

I really believe that designers should provide a solution for the business and not a piece of art. In 2019 I receive a call from a guy asking to fix his bag. He has an upset tone in his voice because his designer left the project in the middle new product production. My pitch was always we finish when we finish and you pay when it is done. I quickly developed a concept to meet the due dates and he was really happy. After this project we did branding, redesign all packaging, print labels and design their shopify store. He is with us since then. For this year we are moving all packaging to a new material and supply. In the end we are going to save more.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

In my opinion talking business and coffee language help me a lot. Helps me build trust in my niche. I can understand the odds of have a business starting, and understanding coffee market behaviors. This understanding helps me to deliver custom solutions for each client. Of course customer care from the beginning makes the difference.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://inkroast.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theinkroast/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/inkroast/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/inkroast
• Twitter: https://www.x.com/alcindofilho

Image Credits

All images were created by Inkroast for our social media.