Dutch Bros. Coffee Has Big Expansion Plans

While some coffee house chains focus on expansion overseas, a newly public company sees plenty of opportunity in the U.S.

Joth Ricci, president and CEO of Dutch Bros  (BROS) – Get Dutch Bros Inc. Class A Report, the growing coffee chain, told Jim Cramer on a recent episode of the “Mad Money” TV show that the company has always been in the people business, not the real estate business. He said that’s how they’ve built their business to include over 20,000 employees so far.

But now is the time for growth. Ultimately, Dutch Bros has plans to expand to over 4,000 locations nationwide. Currently, the chain has 538.

Dutch Bros came public via a traditional IPO last September.

Cramer said Dutch Bros has great coffee, a good plan and has no exposure to Russia or China.

Dutch Bros has raised its growth targets for 2022, projecting that the Oregon-based drive-through chain will expand 23% by adding 125 stores. The company said it expects to focus its growth on Texas, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Southern California.

From a technical standpoint, Dutch Bros. stock is in mixed territory. “The charts and indicators of BROS do not have enough “technical caffeine” to get a rally going at this point,” Real Money Columnist Bruce Kamich wrote recently “Stay at home and grind your own is my advice for now.”

Dutch Bros just celebrated their 30-year anniversary, Ricci noted, and the company continues to deliver “careful” growth that maintains their unique company culture.Ricci said the Dutch Bros model has been successful in many locations so far and they are well able to finance their growth without the need to raise additional capital in the immediate future.

Dutch Bros surprised some investment analysts, though, by forecasting up to $200 million in capital spending.

Dutch Bros has long made its mark in the flavored coffee business and in commitment to Oregon and surrounding areas .

In 1992, Dane Boersma, 38. and brother Travis Boersma, 21, third-generation dairy farmers in Grants Pass, decided to buy a double-head espresso machine and experiment with a hundred pounds of coffee in their empty milk house in Grants Pass. Within a month of handing out free samples of flavored coffee to friends and family, the duo ventured out into their southern Oregon town with a mobile espresso pushcart. They named their company Dutch Brothers Coffee Company, or Dutch Bros.