It would be easy to assume that a brand like Dutch Bros is always looking in its rear-view mirror.
The beverage business in which the chain operates is in a massive state of flux. New providers are jumping into the market. The brand 7 Brew is growing at a rate that is almost unfathomable. And now the big dogs are getting in on the act, including all five of the largest chains in the country.
Christine Barone, however, is not worried, because the industry is always competitive, and Dutch Bros got its start in the Pacific Northwest, where beverage concepts apparently grow on trees. One of those grew into Starbucks. So Barone’s chain is accustomed to competition.
“We’ve been around since 1992,” Barone, CEO of Dutch Bros, told investors at the William Blair Growth Stock Conference, according to a transcript on the financial services site AlphaSense. “And we grew up in the Pacific Northwest. So we are no stranger to competition and have not been really for our entire life as a company.”
The company, which was founded in Grants Pass, Oregon, but is now based in Arizona, has grown just fine despite the presence of so many rapidly growing chains.
The median coffee chain in the Technomic Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report grew sales by 14.6% in 2025. But total sales among fast-food coffee brands grew 6.1%.
That difference is indicative of slower growth at the top and the presence of so many high-growth coffee chains. Those chains are definitely taking share. Dutch Bros grew its system sales by more than 22% last year, according to Technomic. So it is gaining market share.
So the new chains are growing the U.S. beverage market. But Dutch Bros is taking share in that growing market.
In many respects, the chains that are growing sales the strongest are offering a wider selection of beverages than have traditionally been offered at coffee chains and other restaurant concepts.
Dutch Bros has helped to popularize energy drinks in restaurants, which typically avoided the beverages despite their growing popularity inside convenience stores and other retailers. Its Rebel energy line generates sales in the afternoon and among younger consumers.
Barone said that Dutch Bros should be able to hold its own as more companies offer such beverages. “The market itself is growing, and energy and iced are particular areas that are really growing in beverage,” she said. “We are taking share. The market is growing.
“We’re incredibly well positioned to take share, not only in energy but also on the coffee side of the business.”
Barone has said in the past that McDonald’s entry into the energy market in tests in Colorado did not have an impact on the chain’s locations there. But this week she said that the competition has always been there. That means Dutch Bros, and probably other companies as well, should ensure they’re providing the best drinks with the best service that they can.
“Competition overall probably hasn’t changed that much, certainly in the last three to five years,” she said. “As some players get bigger, maybe it feels more like it’s changed or some players come more directly into the energy space. But it’s actually always been quite competitive. And I think you really need to operate and deliver your best service as you look at this market.”
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