Brewing a Broader Audience: Influencer-Fronted Coffee Brands Seek to Make Specialty Coffee More Accessible

If it seems like every famous person has their own coffee brand, that’s not far off the mark.

Amongst the myriad options available for branded business, packaged coffee has consistently attracted its share of celebrities: from brews by film auteur David Lynch (David Lynch Coffee) to “X-Men” star Hugh Jackman (Laughing Man) to Rob Zombie (Hellbilly Brew), Martha Stewart (ULIVjava) and Machine Gun Kelly (27 Club Coffee), there’s something for virtually every taste. But as digital influencers begin to cement themselves in our everyday lives, a growing number of content creators are starting to leverage their unique personal appeal and networks to jump into the specialty coffee space.

Over recent years, influencer-fronted brands like Chamberlain Coffee and Top of the Mornin’, among others, have made inroads with younger coffee drinkers that may find the space intimidating or unwelcoming. New entrants continue to emerge: In November, sports podcast Pardon My Take host and Barstool Sports star Dan “Big Cat” Katz launched Stella Blue Coffee, named after his rescue dog. Three months later, TikTok and Instragram star Chris Olsen introduced Flight Fuel. The DTC brand is a continuation of Olsen’s “Flying for Coffee” series in which he flies across the country to hand deliver coffee to the likes of Kamala Harris, Austin Butler, Meghan Trainor and Ashley Tisdale, among others.

The growth potential of bringing coffee and influencers together is clear. According to a report from Research and Markets, the specialty coffee market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 12.9% between 2022 and 2030 to reach a valuation of $120,539 million. Additionally, a Pew Center research study conducted in November found that 54% of 18- to 29-year-old social media users say influencers impact their purchasing decisions “a lot or a little.”

Meanwhile, coffee roasters are also looking to capitalize on what appears to be a fertile opportunity. Last month, Westrock Coffee Company acquired Los Angeles-based Bixby Coffee Roasters, which roasts and distributes a majority of Chamberlain Coffee’s products, striving to enter “the emerging influencer-led brand space.”

Emphasizing the Importance of Authenticity

As pointed out by Rabobank beverage senior analyst Jim Watson, while strolling through a liquor store, it is highly likely that you will stumble across countless stand-out brands that were either founded by or financed by celebrities and influencers. Within coffee, however, there are currently much fewer brands that stand out or call to mind their creator founder.

For Emma Chamberlain’s audience of 26 million followers across Instagram and YouTube, it was likely no surprise that the young creator decided to turn her passion for coffee into a business. The 21-year-old internet phenomenon first shot to social media fame in 2017 with a quirky personality and relatable videos that documented her shopping, cleaning her apartment and making lots and lots of coffee.

That passion eventually turned into her eponymous brand Chamberlain Coffee, founded in 2019. Having launched as a D2C brand that marketed a range of organic blends in whole bean, ground and single-serve varieties, the business has since expanded into categories such as matcha, tea, hot chocolate, flavored blends and, most recently, chai. Chamberlain Coffee is also gearing up to release a ready-to-drink coffee line.

“It’s a huge space [and] it’s continuing to grow. It was just ripe for innovation,” said Chamberlain Coffee CEO Chris Gallant. “I think there’s an opportunity to really tell a different story led by a young entrepreneur.”

In August, the brand announced it had closed a $7 million funding round led by venture builder Blazar Capital and Chamberlain herself to fuel omnichannel business growth as it works to build up its retail and wholesale presence. In contrast to a celebrity investor joining an established player, influencer-centric coffee brands tend to be built from the ground up, with the creator being at the heart of the entire proposition.

Speaking with BevNET editor-in-chief Jeff Klineman at NOSH Live in January, Chamberlain discussed the importance of building a brand centered around authenticity.

“In the beginning especially, I was like do I deserve a place here? I don’t know every nut and bolt of this industry and I’m young and still learning about everything,” said Chamberlain. “But what I realized is my personal passion starts with coffee but it also is building a brand that means something to people and that they connect with.”

Irish YouTuber Sean McLoughlin, better known as Jacksepticeye, had similarly built a mass online audience before launching Top of the Mornin’ coffee in 2020. Best known for his vlogs and comedic Let’s Play series, McLoughlin has amassed more than 52 million followers across social media – with 29 million subscribers and nearly 16 billion views on YouTube alone. With that kind of following, introducing coffee into the mix was more intuitive than disruptive.

“Sean is a huge coffee fan, with his Irish roots, and regular ‘Top of the Mornin’ welcome to his YouTube channel, building a coffee brand that was built around starting the day right, and with that amazing brand name was something that he wanted to do,” said Top of the Mornin’ CEO Hugh Thomas. “Drinking coffee should be fun, and that is what the brand was launched to be.”

When it comes to CPG, branding is often just as important, if not moreso, than the taste of the beans itself. According to Watson, influencer-fronted coffee brands are beginning to “tell a fundamentally different story” that is no longer dependent on the bean itself.

Watson explained that, while “few categories have seen more pronounced premiumization trends recently than the U.S. spirits industry,” the specialty coffee space is beginning to experience a transformation. He explained that influencers provide access to a larger market and the ability to make the space “cool.”

Creating Branding That Appeals to a New Audience

Though the opportunity is obvious, the success of influencer-led brands still ultimately comes down to execution. Both Chamberlain Coffee and Top of the Mornin’ have found their groove through packaging that features playful, cartoon-style characters that are as entertaining as they are engaging and bring some youthful visual energy to the category.

In 2020, Chamberlain Coffee launched a packaging design featuring illustrated characters with names like Night Owl and Fancy Mouse Espresso. According to Gallant, the unique characters are helping the brand “grow an audience beyond [just] the scope of Emma’s audience,” emphasizing the importance of establishing a brand that can stand on its own while still encompassing the ethos instilled by its influencer founder.

The brand’s products coffee blends – available in both ground and whole bean varieties – retail for $16 to $20 per 12 oz. bag depending on the flavor.

Last month, Top of the Mornin’ unveiled its own rebrand, which features an array of characters – like Sunny, the brand’s sunshine mascot – to introduce “a new element to McLoughlin’s fictional world of ‘Planet Positivity,’” and add a touch of humor and unique charm to the specialty coffee world.

“For many creators, their audiences are discovering adult experiences like coffee for the first time as they grow into adulthood. Often, well-established brands can use complicated language or ‘craft-led’ brand experiences to ‘elevate’ coffee and this can become intimidating,” said Thomas.

Influencers often also bring a deeper level of engagement with their followers and consumers that their businesses can tap into. Barstool Sports host Katz created Stella Blue Coffee following a Barstool fan survey in which 80% of respondents said they drink coffee on a daily basis. Available in three blends – Positive Vibes (light roast), Big Cat Blend (medium roast) and Electric Avenue (dark roast) – the 12 oz. ground coffee bags retail for $15.95 each on Stella Blue Coffee’s site.

Meanwhile, for Olsen, his content output ties directly into Flight Fuel without coming off as straight promotional activity. The Instagram video following his journey to bring coffee to singer Ashley Tisdale alone has amassed more than 118,000 likes and over four million views. Flight Fuel’s portfolio consists of three blends of whole beans – LHR Original, SFO Caramel and DCA Hazelnut – and two coffee concentrates – LAX Vanilla and JFK Caramel. All of the products are priced between $20 and $22.

Though coffee has often lagged behind other categories in price increases and inflation, the past few months have seen prices increase earlier than most other categories largely due to a rise in green coffee costs. However, the specialty coffee set has “room to be aggressive” with its pricing, said Watson, and ultimately $16-20 per 12 oz. bag is an accessible pricepoint for many.

Thomas, the co-founder and former CEO of seltzer and energy drink maker Ugly Drinks, is helping build the Top of the Mornin’ brand with lessons learned about successfully building a brand with a soul that connected with its followers and audience.

The brand has a wide portfolio of products, which includes dark, medium and light roast coffee, hot cocoa and tea. The coffee blends are available for $16 per 12 oz. bag while the tea and hot cocoa offerings both retail for $15.

“Over the coming months, we have a strategy to continue to build out the [Top of the Mornin’] brand world […] and work with Sean to begin to build a content engine that can work with and without Sean’s involvement,” said Thomas.

He continued, “Whilst Sean is the founder and obviously integral to the brand’s growth, we want to make sure we can create engaging content that doesn’t always rely on him and use Sean for flagship moments.”

Despite a majority of day-to-day efforts being run by their respective CEOs, both Chamberlain Coffee and Top of the Mornin’ work heavily alongside their influencer founders.

According to Thomas, who joined Top of the Mornin’ as CEO in March, his primary role is to assist McLoughlin in bringing his vision to life. He told NOSH that he speaks daily with the content creator, discussing new product ideas, content concepts and “generally staying close to what is happening with the consumer and brand.”

Similarly, Gallant said that Chamberlain’s deep involvement in multiple aspects of the business helps set the coffee brand up for success. Behind the scenes of what consumers see, he explained that Chamberlain helps with product strategy and channel development which “shine through in the brand story.”

Looking ahead, the influencer-backed coffee space promises to be ripe with innovation.

“For us, we see the 4th wave for coffee as breaking down some of the barriers and opening up an experience that so many enjoy to a new audience,” said Thomas. “As with any creator-led or any founder-led brand, it’s important to have business fundamentals at the core, whether it’s finances, unit economics or well-run customer service.”