Caribou is a Melbourne-based product design company that focuses on creating innovative, streamlined products for the modern world. The company has been around since 2012 and have created over 60 products in that time, including the Caribou Coffee Brewer which was awarded “Product of the Year” by trade publication Australian Design Review. Caribou’s founder and CEO Cameron Jones says it strives to create designs that are as timeless as they are functional. “We’re not too fond of the latest fads and we like to focus on designs that could be used for years. We want our products to look as good in 50 years as they do today!”
Caribou’s most recent product is the Mirra Desk, an award-winning 2-in-1 desk which incorporates a tonne of functionality into a minimal footprint. The Mirra Desk is designed for cafes, restaurants, bars and anyone that needs to move around the space they have available very quickly. When you are finished with your Mirra Desk it can be stood up on its base so it’s never in the way. The Mirra Desk won “Best Collaborative Product” at this year’s Australian Good Design Awards.
Caribou is also working on the it’s Coffee Brewer 2.0 which is due to launch within 6 months. The new brewer will have updated functionality and design, along with a lower price point for small businesses. Cameron says he isn’t sure what to expect in terms of demand for their new product. “We’re just looking forward to seeing what happens.”
Caribou recently won a contract with the Government of Victoria. It’s Coffee Brewer will be in every bar, restaurant and cafe that’s run by Corrections Victoria for at least the next 5 years. “It was great working with Corrections because they are passionate about their coffee. We got to go on-site and work with the team there to make sure we were getting exactly what they wanted.”
Cameron says he never expected it would grow this big, but is glad it did. “It’s been a lot of hard work and long hours, but I think we’ve earned it and can look back and say we’ve done a pretty good job.”