Is Blue Bottle Coffee on its way to becoming the next Peet's or Starbucks? Recent moves would certainly indicate such. The Bay Area-based coffee chain recently raised $25.75 million dollars in funding -- from venture capitalists and other tech leaders, who usually keep their investments in the tech industry -- and it's using that cash to fund an ambitious expansion trajectory. First, the chain started selling its famous New Orleans iced coffee at Whole Foods. Then it announced it was opening a coffee shop and roastery in Tokyo. Today came the news that it's acquired L.A.-based Handsome Coffee Roasters and Tonx, an online coffee subscription service.
Both of today's acquisitions seem to be a shrewd move for the company. As Wired points out, the online webstore Tonx will give Blue Bottle distribution far beyond its brick-and-mortar coffee bars -- a much-needed boost if Third Wave coffee is really going to catch on to the general public. The Tonx acquisition also gives Blue Bottle an in-house software team specializing in e-commerce. And the purchase of the respected Handsome Coffee Roasters gives the brand a built-in roastery in the Los Angeles market, where it has already announced it's opening shops in Culver City and Venice.
And how are you, the discerning coffee consumer, supposed to feel about your hometown (and Brooklyn) coffee company boldly striding into the mainstream? Well, there's obviously no way to predict how a company will fare in the face of major/international success. But I've always been impressed with how strongly founder/CEO James Freeman and the rest of the Blue Bottle clan believes in the company's mission to quality, freshness, meticulous sourcing, and customer service -- it's a dedication that goes far beyond lip service. The companies they've acquired share similar values. And eventually being able to get a New Orleans or Gibraltar wherever I go? Sounds all right to me.
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