Black Rifle Coffee Company
 | |
| Company type | Privately held company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 2014 |
| Headquarters | Salt Lake City, Utah, United States |
Key people | Evan Hafer and Mat Best |
| Products | Coffee, clothing, mugs |
Number of employees | 102 (2018)[1] |
| Website | www |
Black Rifle Coffee Company (BRCC) is a coffee roaster based in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, owned by former members of the armed forces of the United States.[2] It gained national attention in 2017 for taking a stance in support of United States President Donald Trump, and was endorsed by his son Donald Trump Jr.[3]
History
The company was founded in December 2014 by former Green Beret Evan Hafer.[4] He began by selling a small volume of his 'Freedom Roast' coffee through a friend's apparel website. The coffee sold well, so Hafer launched his own brand and website through which to sell his coffee and branded accessories. In addition to online sales, Black Rifle Coffee Company has a physical presence at some firing ranges and 5.11 Tactical stores.[4]
BRCC has produced a number of humorous and sometimes controversial social media videos which combine military humor with hipster jokes and guns.[5]
In 2017, Black Rifle Coffee Company expanded into Canada with a division, Black Rifle Coffee Canada, based in Alberta and led by CEO Darren Weeks.[6]
In 2018, it opened a new coffee roasting facility in Manchester, Tennessee as part of a $6 million investment in the state.[7] That year, the company made over $30 million in gross revenue.[8]
In 2020, a Canadian gun ban enacted following the 2020 Nova Scotia attacks was mistakenly thought to include a ban on the coffee company, but further inspection revealed that the ban was actually applied to a similarly-named Arizona-based "Black Rifle Company".[9]
Politics
The Black Rifle Coffee Company’s corporate image is built on supporting veterans and first responders. Over half of its staff are former military.[8]
The company maintains a pro-military, pro-gun image[10] and has been endorsed by broadcast personality Sean Hannity for supporting the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution.[11] It has also been characterized in the press as conservative and pro-Trump.[12]
Marketing
The company's brand is tied closely to its pro-gun and socially conservative image as well as close links with American military and law enforcement.
In 2017 BRCC launched an advertising campaign based on their plan to hire 10,000 veterans. While it was conceived previously[5] BRCC launched the campaign after well-known coffee purveyor Starbucks Corporation launched an advertising campaign centered around their plan to hire 10,000 refugees.[1] BRCC released a meme on social media that juxtaposed an image of ISIS fighters photoshopped with Starbucks cups next to an image of American soldiers in combat, which read: “Starbucks vows to hire 10,000 refugees,” and “Black Rifle Coffee Company vows to hire 10,000 veterans.”[5] Company posts associated with the ad campaign labelled Starbucks “Hipsterbucks.”[4] While Hafer criticized what he saw as a publicity stunt by Starbucks, BRCC also received similar criticism around their ad campaign, especially because of the size disparity between BRCC and Starbucks as well as the suggestion in BRCC's ad campaign that Starbucks doesn't hire veterans. In fact, in 2015 Starbucks had launched their own campaign to hire 10,000 veterans. Hafer responded that BRCC and Starbucks are very different companies, and that their size disparity meant that BRCC's proposal was a much more ambitious plan.[5] In a 2017 interview with Vice News, founder Hafer commended Starbucks' veteran hiring program and clarified that he supports all hiring pushes as long as the message is a positive one.[4]
For a campaign in July 2019, the company donated a bag of coffee to a police officer for every bag purchased, in response to a story that six Tempe police officers had been asked to leave a branch of Starbucks.[13]
The company sponsors the No. 9 Chevrolet driven by Noah Gragson in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.[14]
References
- ^ a b Miller, Michelle (3 February 2018). "Black Rifle Coffee: Behind the company selling beans with a message". CBS. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
- ^ Rocco, Matthew (21 May 2018). "Veteran-owned Black Rifle Coffee Company to invest $6M in Tennessee expansion". Fox News. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
- ^ Taylor, Kate (13 November 2017). "Donald Trump Jr. slams Keurig and endorses a pro-Trump, pro-guns, and pro-military coffee company". Business Insider. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
- ^ a b c d Castrodale, Jelisa (1 August 2017). "We Spoke to the Black Rifle Coffee Owner About Guns, Hipsters, and Hiring Veterans". Vice Magazine. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
- ^ a b c d Linehan, Adam. "After Viral Meme, Can Black Rifle Coffee Company Really Hire 10,000 Veterans?". taskandpurpose.com. Task and Purpose. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
- ^ "Controversial 'conservative-minded' coffee company sets up shop in St. Albert". CBC. 2 May 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
- ^ "Black Rifle Coffee Company Opens Manchester, Tennessee, Roasting Facility". Area Development. 16 August 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
- ^ a b Rockefeller, Mark (5 April 2018). "How This Veteran Entrepreneur Brewed $30 Million From Coffee And Passion". Forbes. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
- ^ Snyder, Jesse (May 12, 2020). "Trudeau's gun ban appeared to prohibit some coffee, a website and a toy. Here's why". National Post.
- ^ van Zuylen-Wood, Simon (4 March 2019). "The Heavily Armed Millennials of Instagram". Washington Post. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
- ^ Millard, Drew (26 May 2018). "The world's only pro-gun coffee tastes like burnt dirt". Retrieved 23 May 2019.
- ^ Limitone, Julia (5 December 2017). "'Pro-America' Black Rifle Coffee becoming popular among conservatives, founder says". Fox News. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
- ^ Widener, Laura (8 July 2019). "Vet-owned Black Rifle Coffee to donate coffee to cops after Starbucks kicks out 6 officers". American Military News. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
- ^ Motorsports, J. R. "Bass Pro Shops, TrueTimber and Black Rifle Coffee Aboard Gragson's No. 9 Entry". www.jrmracing.com.