Rifle Coffee Company Black

American coffee is produced and sold by Black Rifle Coffee Company (BRCC), which has its headquarters in Salt Lake City. In 2017, when it had only 50 employees, it gained national attention by promising to hire 10,000 veterans in response to Starbucks' pledge to hire 10,000 refugees. [2][3][4]

History [ edit1 ]

Green Beret alumnus and company founder Evan Hafer launched the business in late 2014. In the beginning, [5] he sold a modest amount of his "Freedom Roast" coffee via a friend's clothing website. Hafer saw a market for his coffee and branded accessories, so he developed his own brand and website to sell the products. In 2020, the company's online, direct-to-consumer coffee subscription service boasted over 100,000 users. Black Rifle Coffee Company, in addition to its online presence, also operates brick-and-mortar cafes in the states of Utah, Texas, Oklahoma, and Georgia. There are also some firing ranges,[8][[5]]11 Tactical stores,[5] and Bass Pro Shops that sell the coffee[7]. [9]1

Numerous social media videos featuring BRCC's signature blend of military humor, hipster jokes, and guns have been widely shared, despite their content's potential for controversy. [10]1

BRCC's Canadian branch, headquartered in Alberta and headed by CEO Darren Weeks, opened in 2017. [11]1

As part of a million investment in Tennessee, BRCC opened a coffee roasting facility in Manchester that same year. Coffee or Die Magazine[12], an online news and lifestyle publication, was also released. [13] It covers news related to the military, veterans, law enforcement, and coffee. [14]1

The company earned $30,000,000 in gross revenue last year. More than two hundred people were working at BRCC this year, with 40 percent being U.S. military veterans, according to the organization. S military According to the report, 1,700 stores nationwide carried their wares. BRCC's first ever licensed coffee shop opened on September 29th, 2019 in Boerne, Texas. About half of their 550 employees were former service members or family members in 2021, per the Washington Examiner. [17]1

In 2020, the firm branched out by offering iced coffee in cans that could be consumed on the go. [18] Beginning in March of 2020, BRCC organized a coffee donation campaign to aid those working to lessen the national and international effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. [19] In May, it was mistakenly thought that a Canadian gun ban enacted in the wake of 2020 attacks in Nova Scotia included a ban on the coffee company, but closer inspection revealed that the ban was actually applied to a similarly named Arizona-based "Black Rifle Company." [20]1

In a July 2021 New York Times article, Hafer explains how he plans to expand the number of brick-and-mortar franchises by recruiting retired military NCOs. He predicts that former Navy petty officers and Army staff sergeants will not join the local police force after graduation, but will instead become franchise owners. [21]1

Since the Filipino people have expressed interest, BRCC is planning to open a branch there by 2023. [21]1

SPAC [ edit1 ]

As part of their plan to expand and go public, Black Rifle Coffee Company merged with SilverBox Engaged Merger Corporation in November 2021 through a special-purpose acquisition company. It is estimated that $1 billion is the current market value of the company. 7 billion During the month of February 2022, the merger was finalized. [23]1

Politics [ edit1 ]

The conservative politics and dedication to veteran causes that Black Rifle Coffee Company promotes are central to the company's brand. The majority of its employees are transitioning out of the military, [15]1

The company maintains a pro-military, pro-gun, pro-police image[24][25] and has publicly supported the politics of former US President Donald Trump through actions such as publishing a (since-deleted) blog post that supported Trump's then-current proposal of an immigration ban from Muslim majority countries Fox News[28] has covered the company's political stance, and conservative media figures like Sean Hannity[29] and Donald Trump Jr.[4] have endorsed it.

A 2021 Salon article reported that BRCC is trying to draw a line and distance themselves from the far-right after their logos and gear appeared on Kyle Rittenhouse, a teen who was acquitted after killing two people and injuring another during a Black Lives Matter protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin On January 6, 2021, rioters wearing Black Rifle Coffee patches broke into the United States Capitol. [31]1

Marketing [ edit1 ]

Because of its pro-gun and socially conservative image and its ties to the American military and law enforcement, the company has become synonymous with these ideologies.

A public relations campaign was launched by BRCC in 2017 to promote the company's intention to hire 10,000 veterans. While the idea for the campaign had been kicking around for a while[10], it was only after the well-known coffee company Starbucks Corporation announced their intention to hire 10,000 refugees that BRCC decided to put it into action. [32] BRCC released a meme on social media that juxtaposed an image of ISIS fighters photoshopped with Starbucks cups next to an image of American soldiers in combat, which read: “Starbucks vows to hire 10,000 refugees,” and “Black Rifle Coffee Company vows to hire 10,000 veterans Advertisement-related company posts [10] dubbed Starbucks "Hipsterbucks. "[5] While Hafer criticized what he saw as a publicity stunt by Starbucks, BRCC also received similar criticism around their ad campaign, especially due to the size disparity between BRCC and Starbucks and the suggestion in BRCC's ad campaign that Starbucks doesn't hire veterans. To hire 10,000 veterans over the next five years, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz and former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates launched a similar program in 2013; by 2017, they had hired 8,000 veterans. In February of 2017, BRCC had a total staff of 52 people. The size difference between BRCC and Starbucks, Hafer explained, makes BRCC's proposal significantly more ambitious. [10] In an interview with Vice News from 2017, Starbucks' founder Hafer praised the company's veteran hiring program and made it clear that he backs all hiring campaigns as long as they send a positive message. [5]

In response to a report that six police officers in Tempe, Arizona had been asked to leave a Starbucks location, BRCC ran a campaign in July 2019 in which they gave one bag of coffee to a police officer for every bag purchased. [33]1

A logo for one of BRCC's coffee bags that depicted Saint Michael the Archangel, the patron saint of soldiers, firing a short-barreled rifle in the Renaissance style was rejected. Hafer's friend at the Pentagon warned him that white supremacists were using a depiction of Saint Michael with his foot on Satan's neck as a rallying symbol after George Floyd's murder, so they rejected the design. [21]1

Ty Dillon, Noah Gragson, and Matt Crafton are all NASCAR drivers that the company has sponsored. Drivers like Travis Pastrana and Dave Carapetyan, who are sponsored by BRCC and race in the American Rally Association, use the team name "Black Rifle Coffee Motor Sports Team" [37] Pastrana, whose family is closely tied to the military, also has a personal endorsement deal with BRCC that began in 2022 after ending his partnership with longtime sponsor Red Bull;[38] the two parties first collaborated for a rally car helicopter jump stunt in 2018 [39] BJ Baldwin, an off-road racer, and Bucky Lasek, a skateboarder, are two more athletes BRCC backs. [40]1

The Dallas Cowboys were criticized in 2022 for announcing a new partnership with BRCC the day after the July 4th shooting at the Highland Park parade. Black Rifle later issued a statement justifying the timing of the announcement by saying that discussions of the partnership had begun well before July 4th. [41][42]

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