Caribou Coffee
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Caribou Coffee | |
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| Type | Public (NASDAQ: CBOU) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1992 |
| Headquarters | Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Key people | Michael J. Coles CEO, Chairman, and President |
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Revenue |  $197.99 million USD (2006) |
| Net income |  US$-4.91 million USD (2006) |
| Employees | 4,000+ employees |
| Slogan | "Life is short. Stay awake for it." |
| Website | cariboucoffee.com |
Caribou Coffee is the United State’s second-largest specialty coffee retailer. Caribou concentrates on selling gourmet coffees, teas, and bakery goods in over 464 coffeehouses in 18 states.
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[edit] History
In 1990, on a trip to Denali National Park in Alaska, Caribou Coffee was imagined by newlyweds John and Kim Puckett. The couple raised money to start the first Caribou Coffee shop in Edina, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis, in 1992. Following several years of mixed performance, the Pucketts sold their controlling interest in the company to Atlanta-based Crescent Capital, which has since changed its name to Arcapita.
Since opening, the chain has expanded to 464 locations in 18 states and the District of Columbia[1], making it the second largest operator of non-franchised coffeehouses in the United States, after Starbucks Corporation. This includes 24 licensed locations in the US and two overseas markets. Caribou maintains its headquarters and coffee roasting facility in the Minneapolis metropolitan area. In 2005, Caribou Coffee's majority stakeholder Arcapita completed an IPO of Caribou. (NASDAQ: CBOU). On September 28, 2005 Caribou Coffee became a publicly traded company. As Arcapita still owns a majority of Caribou stock, it continues to follow Sharia, or Islamic law, in its business dealings. Caribou Coffee also restricts it's business dealings with alcohol, gambling, pornography, and pork products.
The First Islamic Investment Bank of Baharain has a large financial stake in Arcapita, Caribou Coffee's parent corporation, and in 2002 Yusuf al-Qaradawi's involvement[1] with the bank led to a protest of Caribou Coffee. That same year al-Qaradawi stepped down as chairman of the bank's Sharia board.[2]
[edit] Products
Caribou Coffee was sold to an Atlanta based company but their main headquarters is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Caribou serves gourmet coffees, premium loose-leaf teas, blended coffee/espresso drinks, and bakery goods. They also market the Caribou brand with clothing and accessories available at most stores. They also licenses third parties to use the Caribou Coffee brand on food and merchandise. Caribou serves many specialty espresso drinks such as lattes, cappuccinos, and mochas. They also offer “Coolers” (Blended coffee with flavors such as vanilla, Carmel, chocolate, Mint and Espresso) and several non coffee smoothies (strawberry banana, wild berry, pomegranate mango, and passion fruit green tea). In mid 2005 Caribou started marketing “Bou Gourmet,” which consisted of bakery items including bagels, muffins, scones, cookies and cinnamon rolls along with several sandwich choices. They also have a selection of signature Caribou coffee-based beverages called "Wild Drinks." These including the Caramel High Rise, Turtle Mocha, Mint Condition, Hot Apple Blast, Campfire Mocha and Lite White Berry.
Caribou has topped 41 other regular and decaffeinated Colombian and Kona coffees in tests performed for the December 2004 edition of Consumer Reports. Inexpensive Eight O’Clock and Dunkin’ Donuts placed second and third respectively, beating brews from Starbucks and Seattle’s Best.
Caribou Coffee partnered up with General Mills to release granola bars that have real coffee in them and come in four flavors: Vanilla Latte, Chocolate Mocha, Caramel High Rise, and Mint Condition
The largest beverage company in the world, Coca-Cola, is said to be soon coming out with a new iced coffee beverage which is made with Caribou Coffee. [2]
[edit] Partnerships
Caribou recently chose to develop a partnership with the Rainforest Alliance in order to promote agriculturally, environmentally, and socially responsible coffee. By the end of 2008, half of all the green coffee Caribou buy will be Rainforest Alliance Certified. The move has received mixed reviews: Rainforest Alliance certification, dubbed "Fairtrade lite" by various observers and news sources, is questioned in the industry[3] and was described in January 2005 by Oxford University professor Alex Nicholls as "an easy option for companies looking for a “flash in the pan at a cheap price”.[4]
Caribou Coffee is also the first coffee company to volunteer itself as a sponsor of the Specialty Coffee Association of America's Producer Support Fund. Caribou donated at the highest level to the fund established by SCAA to assist coffee growers who are association members and farmers who do not have the funds to attend SCAA functions.
[edit] References
- ^ Annual Report 2000
- ^ Sheik Yusuf al-Qaradawi: Theologian of Terror - Affiliations, Anti-Defamation League, August 1, 2005
- ^ Manchester Evening News (2007). McDonald's brew a forest-friendly coffee. URL accessed on January 20, 2007.
- ^ Ethical Corporation (January 2005). Bean Wars. URL accessed on September 3, 2006.
[edit] External links
- Corporate Website
- An Islamic bank is the majority owner of the Caribou Coffee chain. Snopes reports on startup problems and funding sources.
- Caribou Coffee's majority stakeholder Arcapita's website displaying all US investments including Tensar, Cypress Communications, Southland Log Homes, Church's Chicken, Loehmann's, Cirrus Design, and many others.
- Rainforest Alliance Caribou Coffee Company Takes a Leadership Role in Backing Sustainable Coffee Growing Practices
- Caribou Coffee Tops Consumer Reports' Latest Ratings
