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What started off as a playful exchange of selling cups of coffee for $20 has led to Jimmy Butler pursuing his passion to launch a coffee brand of his own in an industry valued at $465.9 billion in 2020, according to the Global Coffee Market. As the National Basketball Association (NBA) headed to the bubble in Orlando, FL in 2020, Butler was disappointed at the lack of coffee options available. Looking to resolve his coffee cravings, Butler crafted his own “Big Face Coffee.” So apparently Jimmy Butler wasn't kidding about the up-charge for the use of his French Press at Disney. (From Meyers Leonard's Twitter): pic.twitter.com/1s1em6flRG — Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) August 15, 2020 “The reasoning behind [the name Big Face Coffee] was when we first got into the Bubble during the pandemic, I remember opening up our per diem and it was like $2,080 in there. Basically 20 $100 bills and four $20 bills,” Jimmy Butler told People. He continued: “So I’m thinking, okay, if I charge $20 for a...
Imagine a café where you can get your daily cup of coffee and a history lesson at the same time. Catrice and Jakyra Hixon’s coffee shop — Melanin Café — does just that. The couple recently opened their café in Opelika, Alabama with the hopes to serve quality coffee while celebrating melanin and fostering a peaceful environment, The Associated Press reports . The café is even more of a family affair with Hixon’s sister, Crystal Slaughter, as part of the team as the café’s baker. Black history is cleverly taught through the café’s menu in that “every drink has a name associated with lesser-known Black contributors and landmarks.” “We learned about Black history in school, but we only got civil rights, Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks,” Hixon said. “I wanted to bring forward people we don’t really know about, people like inventors, scientists and doctors.” Their menu also puts a focus on the local Opelika history, such as a drink named after Dr. John W. Darden — Opelika’s first Black...
BLK & Bold, a Des Moines-based Black-owned coffee company, has announced a multi-year partnership with the NBA, just in time for the playoffs. The Des Moines Register is reporting that the specialty coffee and tea brand — which was founded by Rod Johnson and Pernell Cezar in 2018 — first began its expansion efforts when it became the first Black-owned coffee company to get a national distribution contract with Whole Foods Market. BLK & Bold is currently available in 31 different Whole Foods Markets across the Midwest region. It also has its own Amazon storefront, and is available at select Target locations, as well. But this new agreement that the company has with the NBA is very different. Under this partnership, Johnson & Cezar will “co-brand, co-market and collaborate” with the league for the development of new products. “The Warm Up includes a blend of coffee beans from Ethiopia and Central America and is described as having a fruity and caramel flavor profile. Each purchase on...
Founder of Red Bay Coffee, Keba Konte , is no newbie to innovation. In 2014, the San Francisco native combined his passion for photographic journalism and coffee to create a Coffee Dojo that simultaneously served as the headquarters of Red Bay Coffee and a daily art exhibit that showcased his photography. With such creative ingenuity, it’s no surprise that Konte honed his entrepreneurial acumen when the COVID-19 pandemic hit hard. Due to coronavirus, Forbes reports Red Bay Coffee’s retail stores had to shut down resulting in an 85 percent decline in sales and a drastic reduction in his workforce. Now, that some of his six retail locations are reopened, he says the decline is only about 40 percent. However, according to Forbes , the Oakland, California coffee hub has seen a 350 percent increase in e-commerce sales since the start of the pandemic. Before the stay-at-home regulations, Red Bay Coffee’s supermarket sales from Whole Foods and Safeway made up 17 percent of overall sales....
As the pandemic redirects business models and disrupts financial platforms, many small businesses are taking a hit, but one Black-owned business is thriving and reaching new heights in its distribution endeavors. Blk & Bold, a specialty coffee company, announced a distribution partnership with Amazon and Whole Foods Market. According to Black Enterprise , Blk & Bold proclaims themselves to be the first-ever Black-owned coffee and tea company that is nationally distributed. “The seemingly overnight shift of the retail landscape and store operations have no doubt impacted the flow of emerging brands entering and expanding in the market. This is also why the alliance with Whole Foods and other key retailers continues to showcase the support and belief in Blk & Bold as a coffee brand,” co-founder and CEO of Blk & Bold, Pernell Cezar told Black Enterprise. Blk & Bold coffee has a plethora of options to choose from, including a Rise & Grind medium roast, BLK & Bold dark roast, and a...
What if you could transform a part of your everyday morning routine into a charitable act? This was the mission behind BLK & Bold, a Black-owned coffee company founded by Rod Johnson and Pernell Cezar. The childhood friends decided to venture into the billion-dollar industry to make each cup of joe count. Five percent of their business is donated to eradicating social issues, including youth homelessness and food deserts, according to Cuisine Noir . “We really wanted to find a way to impact that vulnerable demographic by doing something we do every day, which is enjoying a cup of coffee or tea,” Cezar said. “The vision of the brand goes back to amplifying contribution and awareness of how for-profit can be this engine for domestic impact.” Johnson and Cezar, whose previous careers involved higher education and retail merchandising, noticed a lack of representation in the coffee business. With the Des Moines-based startup, they hope to help educate Black consumers about the beverage,...
A little-known coffee shop is receiving big-name patronage. Kopi Kenangan has just nabbed celebrity investors as a part of its venture capital efforts. The Indonesian coffee chain recently received backing from NBA player, Caris LeVert, Serena Williams’ Serena Ventures, Jay-Z’s Arrive, and Sweetgreen CEO, Jonathan Neman, according to Line Today. Edward Tirtanata, James Prananto, and Cynthia Chaerunnisa, the founders of Kopi Kenangan, established the company two years ago, to provide a middle ground between lower-end and more expensive coffee . Apparently, they have found that sweet spot. According to TechCrunch, the company raised $20 million through a Series A funding round earlier this year; the new, undisclosed investments increase the total yield. The funds will be used for expansion and for further technological development. The chain will add several new local stores and kiosks, and is expected to capture an overseas market by 2020. Its use of technology currently facilitates...
Red Bay Coffee, an Oakland-based, Black-owned coffee brand, just secured its Series A funding round. Photojournalist Keba Konte started Red Bay Coffee in 2014, creating a space where coffee and art could collide. David Drummond, the senior vice president of corporate development at Alphabet Inc., and Sundial Brands Founder and CEO Richelieu Dennis, helped lead the funding round for Red Bay Coffee. Red Bay Coffee is a pillar in the Fruitvale community–where it’s based–and uses its space to host panel discussions, screen films, and launch products. The company also sources its coffee from countries including Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya, Burundi and more. In 2018, Konte told AfroTech “My home is Oakland.” “The spirit of Oakland is in line with Red Bay Coffee’s mission. There is an entrepreneurial and artistic spirit in the water here,” Konte said. Red Bay has also been a wholesale supplier for major tech companies like Facebook, Salesforce, Twitter, and Airbnb. “People all over the world...