Dutch Bros Coffee wants to take its coffee shops to a lot more corners, and now the Grants Pass, Ore.-based chain has the funds to do it.
The chain of more than 300 drive-thru coffee shops this week said it has received a minority investment from private-equity firm TSG Consumer Partners.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the company plans to use the funds to expand the brand into new markets, with the hope of growing to 800 shops in five years. The company plans to use the funding to attract talent and deploy technology to improve service and provide business intelligence.
“TSG understands the vision of Dutch Bros and values our unique company culture and dedication to our people, customers and local communities,” Travis Boersma, co-founder and CEO of Dutch Bros, said in a statement. “We have set ambitious growth and expansion goals, and we trust TSG to help us build on this momentum in the most strategic way possible.”
Boersma and his late brother Dane were dairy farmers who sold their cows and started selling coffee from a pushcart in 1992, using 100 pounds of beans and a double-head espresso machine. The company grew to six locations by 1996 and began franchising in 1998. Dane Boersma was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease and passed away in 2009.
The company, now the country’s largest privately held drive-thru coffee concept, is known for its charity efforts and donates more than $5.8 million a year to charity.
Blythe Jack, TSG’s managing director, said that Dutch Bros “has an exceptional history of fostering deep connections with its customers, which has proven to be instrumental to its rapid growth and success.”
Dutch Bros generated $235.7 million in system sales in 2017, according to Technomic data, up 8.5% from the year before. Average unit volumes rose 2.4% last year.
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