Days was awarded the title of Best Coffee Capsule/Pod 2025 at the prestigious World Coffee Innovation Awards. Here, co-founders Youssef and Rawad offers a compelling glimpse into what happens when innovation, design and attention to taste come together in a single pod.

Can you tell us a little about your winning entry — what makes it unique or innovative?

Our winning entry, Days Espresso Capsules, stands out because it combines premium speciality-grade coffee, local production and real market need with meaningful execution.

The blends were developed using single-origin traceable beans (Colombia x Ethiopia x Panama origin profiles), roasted and encapsulated entirely by Days.

What makes it innovative is the marriage of craft-quality coffee with capsule convenience, without shortcuts. No additives, artificial aromatics or chemical decaffeination agents.

It was built as a product for daily rituals, not for trends, focusing on texture, foam quality, aroma clarity and distinguished aftertastes that perform both in retail and professional espresso environments.

How has winning a FoodBev Award impacted your brand, team, or project since the announcement?

Since winning at the World Coffee Innovation Awards 2025, the impact has been strategic, not just sentimental. It strengthened confidence internally for the team, validating that a Lebanese-rooted innovation can scale globally.

On the market side, it accelerated momentum in the UAE and Lebanon distribution pipeline, helping open B2B conversations with corporate and retail buyers, and increased adoption within speciality and office coffee programmes.

Becoming an award-winning capsule, especially from the FoodBev award, increased our sales and allowed new clients to see us in a more credible lense. Most importantly, it affirmed to our partners and suppliers that we’re building a business model that prioritises product standards first, creating alignment across sourcing, packaging, design and logistics decisions moving forward.

What does it feel like to have your work recognised on this global stage?

It’s both humbling and motivating. Having our work recognised globally reinforced that innovation doesn’t require complexity to matter, it requires clarity, relevance and excellence. Representing Lebanon in a category dominated by legacy European brands and seeing our coffee compete on merit felt like an affirmation that using honest ingredients and ethically building a business does take you places.

The recognition from FoodBev Media places responsibility on us to evolve thoughtfully, delivering ambition backed by craftsmanship and storytelling supported by tangible product performance.

Looking ahead, what’s next for you and how do you see your innovation evolving in the future?

Looking ahead, we’re evolving into a broader coffee-corner ecosystem, where capsules become the foundation for a larger daily ritual, supported by complementary goods and category expansion. We look to expand into the EU and US market within the next year.

On the product roadmap, we’re finalising the launch of decaffeinated capsule blends (beginning with Colombia), exploring limited seasonal SKUs, and strengthening capsule performance for consignment and professional espresso programs with machine partners.

We see the innovation evolving along 3 layers:

• Better coffee inputs (traceable, seasonal, micro-lot driven SKUs)

• Smarter form factors (consistent crema, cleaner aromatics, controlled aftertaste profiles)

• Scaled rituals around the capsule (community activations, retail + corporate coffee programmes and collaborative seasonal drops)

  
  

Our north star remains the same: better coffee, slower but more intentional distribution and innovations that earn their place rather than announce it.

World Coffee Innovation Awards 2026, in association with Café Business Expo

The World Coffee Innovation Awards have returned, showcasing groundbreaking developments across the sector. 2026 marks the fourth year of these awards, celebrating international innovation from the coffee industry.

Submissions close: 14 August – Don't miss your chance for global recognition and industry exposure!

The World Coffee Innovation Awards 2026 ceremony will be held at Café Business Expo, presented by FoodBev Media. Café Business Expo is the UK’s leading trade event connecting café owners and operators with the suppliers, technology and ideas shaping the future of the industry.

Discover the latest products and connect with innovative brands in the sector. Source new products, compare suppliers and negotiate deals all in one place in London from 29 to 30 September 2026!

For more information about our selection of awards programmes, please visit foodbevawards.com or email awards@foodbev.com.