Blue Bottle Coffee

Oakland, United States Founded: 2002 • Age: 24 yrs Acquired By Nestle
Specialty coffee is roasted and retailed by Blue Bottle Coffee.

About Blue Bottle Coffee

Blue Bottle Coffee is a Consumer company based in Oakland (United States) founded in 2002 by James Freeman, and was acquired by Nestle in September 2017. It operates as a specialty coffee is roasted and retailed by Blue Bottle Coffee. Blue Bottle Coffee has raised $120.51 million across 3 funding rounds from investors including Fidelity Investments, Nestlé and Morgan Stanley. The company has 802 employees. Blue Bottle Coffee has completed 2 acquisitions, including Perfect Coffee and Tonx. Its chief executive is James Freeman. Its website bluebottlecoffee.com draws about 351 thousand monthly visits. Its focus areas include Food and Agriculture, Food Service Chains, Restaurants and Limited Service. Its legal entity is BLUE BOTTLE COFFEE, INC. Its competitors include Burger King, First Watch, Starbucks, Peet's Coffee & Tea and Cracker Barrel and 5 more; 3 of its 10 listed competitors have raised funding.

Company details

Blue Bottle Coffee was established in 2002 in Oakland, United States, by James Freeman, who serves as founder and co-CEO. Operations are centered in the coffee sector, where high-quality beans are sourced, roasted, and distributed through retail cafes and wholesale channels. Services include brewing and packaging for on-site consumption and home use, with a primary focus on the U.S. market and select international expansions.

  • Headquarters Oakland, United States
  • Employees 802
  • Founders James Freeman
  • Stage Acquired
  • Sectors
    Consumer
  • Website category Food and Drink · Beverages
  • Email
    ••••••••
  • Phone
    •••• ••••
  • Website bluebottlecoffee.com
  • Social LinkedIn X Facebook
  • Acquired by Nestle (Sep 2017)
  • Legal Name Blue Bottle Coffee, Inc.
Key Metrics
  • Total Equity Funding
    $120.51M (USD)

    in 3 rounds

  • Latest Funding Round
    $74.96M (USD), Series C

    Jun 2015

  • Investors
  • Employee Count
    802
  • Investments & Acquisitions
  • Acquired by
    Nestle

    (Sep 2017)

Funding Insights of Blue Bottle Coffee

Blue Bottle Coffee has successfully raised a total of $120.51M across 3 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Series C round of $74.96 million completed in June 2015. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.

  • Total Funding $120.51M
  • Total Rounds 3
  • Last Round Series C — $74.96M
  • First Round $19.8M

    (Dec 2012)

  • Investors Count 6

All 3 funding rounds of Blue Bottle Coffee with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.

DateAmountTransaction NameValuationLead InvestorsInvestors
Jun 2015$74.96MSeries C–Fidelity Investments
Feb 2014$25.75MSeries B––
Dec 2012$19.8MSeries A––
Valuation history

7 investors in total: 7 institutional.

Investors in Blue Bottle Coffee

Blue Bottle Coffee has secured backing from 7 investors, including institutional and venture fund investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Fidelity Investments, Nestlé and Morgan Stanley.

All
Venture Fund
Institutional
InvestorDescriptionFounded YearDomainLocation
Venture capital investments in technology startups and entrepreneurs.
–indexventures.com-
Venture capital firm supporting AI founders through investments and community.
–trueventures.com-
Wealth management, investment advisory, and financial services are provided.
1935morganstanley.comNew York, United States
Diversified investment management services are offered across multiple asset classes.
2005tetragoninv.comNew York, United States
Provider of brokerage accounts, retirement planning, wealth management, and trading platforms
1946fidelity.comBoston, United States
Official website of iconic skateboarding game
1997tonyhawk.comVista, United States
Multi-category food and beverage products are produced and distributed globally.
1866nestle.comVevey, Switzerland
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People of Blue Bottle Coffee

94 people are tracked at Blue Bottle Coffee (36 in leadership, 58 in team); the tracked headcount is 802.

NameRoleGroup
James Freeman
Founder & Co-CEOLeadership
Kester Whitaker
Chief Growth Officer & Head Of AsiaLeadership
Jon Alsterlind
CFO & COOLeadership
Dani Fisher
VP, BrandLeadership
Karl Strovink
CEOLeadership
Koni Chan
Senior People PartnerLeadership
Chase Gharrity
Global Head of PeopleLeadership
Ryan Suh
General Manager, KoreaLeadership
Jennifer Ferrante
Head Of US Assortment PlanningLeadership
Kevin Chan
Marketplace Director, Hong KongLeadership
Pauline Ho
Director Of Global Accounting & ControlsLeadership
Elvira N. Corey
Chief People OfficerLeadership
Fiona Yu
Global Director Of KiosksLeadership
Kelly D.
Talent Acquisition Partner & SourcerLeadership
Ernest Leung
Director Of Partnerships And LicensingLeadership
Kenny W.
Regional Director - West CoastLeadership
Rami Nehme
Regional DirectorLeadership
Booth Babcock
Senior Director, Real Estate And Cafe DevelopmentLeadership
Mi Young Kim
Head Of HR & GALeadership
Michael Phillips
Global Director Culture & OmotenashiLeadership

74 more people are available in the full profile.

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Investments & Acquisitions by Blue Bottle Coffee

Blue Bottle Coffee has strategically engaged in corporate development activities, having acquired 2 companies. Notable acquisitions include Perfect Coffee and Tonx.

Acquisitions
Company NameDescriptionDomainLocationFoundedAcquiredAmount
Subscription coffee
perfectcoffee.comSan Francisco, United States2013Feb 2015••••
Fresh coffee beans are sourced and delivered weekly via subscription.
tonx.orgLos Angeles, United States2011Apr 2014••••
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  • Exports

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Timeline of Blue Bottle Coffee

6 dated milestones of Blue Bottle Coffee across 15 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.

  1. Founded Blue Bottle Coffee is founded.
  2. Funding First funding round of $19.8M.
  3. Acquisition Acquires Tonx.
  4. Acquisition Acquires Perfect Coffee.
  5. Funding Latest funding round, Series C, of $75.0M.
  6. Exit Acquired by Nestle.

Competitors of Blue Bottle Coffee

Blue Bottle Coffee has 10 listed competitors in our database, 3 of them funded. They include Burger King, First Watch, Starbucks, Peet's Coffee & Tea and Cracker Barrel, among others.

Company NameDomainFoundedHQ LocationTotal fundingEmployeesDescription
bk.com1954Miami, United States$100M40
Burgers and fast food are served by a restaurant chain.
firstwatch.com1983Bradenton, United States–12,000
A chain of limited-service restaurants is operated nationwide.
starbucks.com1971Seattle, United States–361,000
High-quality coffees are roasted and served in limited-service restaurant chains.
peets.com1966San Francisco, United States–4,340
Speciality coffee and tea brand
crackerbarrel.com1969Lebanon, United States–77,000
A chain of limited-service restaurants is operated nationwide.
blackriflecoffee.com2014Salt Lake, United States–201
Coffee products are sold online as an internet-first brand.
bojangles.com1977Charlotte, United States–2,607
Fast food restaurant chain
bulletproof.com2013Seattle, United States$43.94M90
Bulletproof was founded in 2013 by Dave Asprey in Seattle.
tropicalsmoothiecafe.com1997Atlanta, United States––
Owns and operates a chain of cafes
blankstreet.com2020Brooklyn, United States$126.72M452
Operator of a chain of coffee shops offering high-quality coffee and food
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Detailed competitors of Blue Bottle Coffee

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Web traffic of Blue Bottle Coffee

The website of Blue Bottle Coffee (bluebottlecoffee.com) receives about 351.1K visits a month and ranks #105,599 among all websites worldwide, #3,219 in Beverages.

  • Monthly visits
    351.1K

    ▼ 21.4% vs previous month

  • Unique visitors
    232.6K

    per month

  • Global rank
    #105,599

    among all websites

  • Category rank
    #3,219

    Food and Drink · Beverages

Similar websites

Websites whose visitors overlap most with Blue Bottle Coffee. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.

WebsiteDomainAudience affinityMonthly visitsGlobal rankProfile
fellowproducts.com
100%
967.1K#41,356View details
drinktrade.com
99%
414.7K#73,285View details
intelligentsia.com
intelligentsia.com
97%
–#295,949–
stokbrew.com
stokbrew.com
96%
–#869,313–
koriwhiskey.com
koriwhiskey.com
95%
–#249,848–
••••••••••••••••.com••%•.•M#•••••–
••••••••••••••••.com••%•.•M#•••••–
••••••••••••••••.com••%•.•M#•••••–
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Top companies in Food & Beverage Products & Processing

10 companies that operate in the same segment as Blue Bottle Coffee (Food & Beverage Products & Processing), ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.

CompanyDescriptionFoundedLocationTotal fundingRevenueEmployees
Platform offering a subscription-based delivery service for fresh milk and groceries
2015Gurugram, Haryana, IndiaUSD 228.42 MUSD 99.78 M3,464
Hens and cattle are reared to supply eggs and butter.
2007Austin, Texas, United StatesUSD 49.96 MUSD 759.44 M598
Subscription-based coffee products are offered by an internet-first brand.
2013Gurugram, Haryana, IndiaUSD 112.84 MUSD 25.83 M2,059
Provider of bakery-cafe services and a loyalty program
1987St. Louis, Missouri, United StatesUSD 145.61 M––
Meat and seafood products are delivered via an online platform.
2015Bengaluru, Karnataka, IndiaUSD 564.84 MUSD 97.26 M2,828
Dry snacks and coffee are manufactured and distributed.
2015Chennai, Tamil Nadu, IndiaUSD 16.52 MUSD 208 K29
Food, snacks, and beverages are produced and distributed globally.
1898Purchase, New York, United States–USD 93.92 B319,000
Multi-category organic dairy products are offered online.
2010Tiptur, Karnataka, IndiaUSD 58.15 MUSD 23.34 M810
Packaged food products are offered through an online platform.
2019Mumbai, Maharashtra, IndiaUSD 37.6 MUSD 4.41 M168
Multi-category food and beverage products are produced and distributed globally.
1866Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland–USD 2.36 B16,250
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Related news about Blue Bottle Coffee

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Frequently Asked Questions about Blue Bottle Coffee

Blue Bottle Coffee was founded in 2002 and raised its 1st funding round 10 years after it was founded.

Blue Bottle Coffee is headquartered in Oakland, United States. It is registered at Oakland, California, United States.

James Freeman is the current CEO of Blue Bottle Coffee. They have also founded this company.

Blue Bottle Coffee is a funded company, having raised a total of $120.51M across 3 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a Series A of $19.8M, raised on Dec 2012.

Blue Bottle Coffee has 802 employees.

Blue Bottle Coffee was established in 2002 in Oakland, United States, by James Freeman, who serves as founder and co-CEO. Operations are centered in the coffee sector, where high-quality beans are sourced, roasted, and distributed through retail cafes and wholesale channels. Services include brewing and packaging for on-site consumption and home use, with a primary focus on the U.S. market and select international expansions.

Blue Bottle Coffee's top competitors include Burger King, Cracker Barrel and Black Rifle Coffee Company.

Blue Bottle Coffee has made 2 acquisitions, including Perfect Coffee, and Tonx.

Blue Bottle Coffee has 7 investors. Key investors include Fidelity Investments, Nestlé, Morgan Stanley, Tetragon, and Tony Hawk.

Blue Bottle Coffee operates through Blue Bottle Coffee, Inc..

Yes. Blue Bottle Coffee was acquired by Nestle in September 2017.

The website of Blue Bottle Coffee receives about 351 thousand visits a month and ranks #105,599 among all websites worldwide.

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