Kerrie Joyce 
Hoboken-born coffee brand, Maxwell House, will be changing its name to Maxwell Apartment. Parent company Kraft Heinz announced the change on September 25th, launching a limited-time rebrand. The coffee brand is celebrating 133 years of business, and is launching the “apartment” coffee as a way to help customers in light of rising costs of living, especially in housing. Read on to learn more about the meaning behind the rebranding and the coffee company’s legacy in Hoboken.
Photo Credit: Hoboken Historical Museum
The Name Change
The company is not actually changing its name, but is adding a limited-time rebranded year-supply of “Apartment” coffee. The brand introduced the launch via a press release, stating, “As more Americans opt for apartment living, the coffee brand serves up a year’s worth of coffee to match their 12-month leases.”
Reflecting on the rising costs of living and the fact that Americans are increasingly opting to rent rather than own their homes, the brand stated that customers seeking value in the ordinary parts of their day will benefit from the yearly supply, which is for sale on Amazon with a $40 price tag. Kraft Heinz spokesperson and North America Head of Coffee, Holly Ramsden, said “Two-thirds of American adults drink coffee every day, which can add up quickly, especially these days.”
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“Maxwell House believes no one should have to go without great tasting coffee and Maxwell Apartment delivers the same delicious taste people know and love, at a value that celebrates all our fans are doing to make smart choices in their lives,” she continued.
The brand further noted that daily cafe runs, which many of us are opting for as part of “sweet treat” culture, can add up to $90 monthly or more. According to the press release, the “one year lease” of Maxwell Apartment coffee would save customers $1000 a year.
Hoboken Connection
Photo Credit: Hoboken Historical Museum
The rebranded Apartment coffee, Kraft Heinz says, will retain the same “Good to the Last Drop” taste and aroma as the original Maxwell House coffee. The slogan “Good to the Last Drop” is familiar to some longtime Hobokenites and historians because of the massive sign that used to sit atop the Maxwell building, which formerly housed the Coffee plant from 1939 to 1990.
According to previous HG reporting, the coffee company was the largest employer in town during its years of operation in the Mile Square. General Foods, Maxwell’s parent company at the time which has since merged with Kraft Heinz, ceased operations at the Hoboken plant in 1990 in favor of continuing solely at its other franchise location in Jacksonville, Florida. When measured against the Jacksonville plant, the Hoboken location was closed due to higher costs in salaries, lower coffee consumption at that time, and rumors of asbestos.
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The Hoboken plant stretched from 11th to 12th Streets along the Hudson River and Sinatra Drive, and has since been converted into condominiums. The building was converted in 2003 by the Toll Brothers, and is known today as Maxwell Place.
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