Wandering Bear Coffee

About Wandering Bear Coffee

Wandering Bear Coffee, a New York-based company, has carved out a specific niche in the ready-to-drink coffee market by focusing on multi-serve, on-tap cold brew solutions for both homes and offices. Founded in 2014 by Matt Bachmann and Ben Gordon, the company has raised approximately $29.1 million in capital over seven funding rounds. The founders' journey began at Columbia Business School, where they discovered a shared passion for homemade cold brew coffee, often bringing their own concoctions to class in mason jars. This mutual interest evolved into a business concept aimed at bringing café-quality cold brew into consumers' refrigerators.

The company's core product is its bag-in-box cold brew, a format that preserves freshness by keeping air and light out, allowing the coffee to remain fresh for up to 30 days in the refrigerator. This packaging was a novel application in the coffee sector at the time, positioning Wandering Bear as a first-mover in on-tap home and office coffee solutions. The business operates a multi-channel sales strategy. Initially, it focused heavily on direct sales to corporate offices in New York City. However, the COVID-19 pandemic prompted a significant pivot towards a direct-to-consumer (D2C) model, with e-commerce, including their own website and platforms like Amazon, becoming the primary revenue driver, accounting for about 80% of the business post-pandemic. The company also maintains a presence in retail and wholesale, with products available in major retailers like Whole Foods, Target, and Kroger.

Wandering Bear's product line includes 100% organic coffee, sourced from regions like Peru, Mexico, and Nicaragua. Offerings come in various sizes, including 96 oz on-tap boxes and smaller 32 oz cartons. The product portfolio features a range of flavors such as Straight Black, Vanilla, Mocha, and Caramel, as well as decaffeinated options. Many of their brews are dairy-free and unsweetened, catering to diverse dietary preferences. Before the pandemic, the office channel constituted over 80% of revenue. The strategic shift to a D2C-focused model enabled the company to not only survive the disruption but to grow its revenue to three times its pre-pandemic levels. This adaptability demonstrates a capacity to navigate significant market shifts while continuing to serve its core value proposition: providing strong, smooth, and convenient cold brew coffee.