Black Rifle Coffee Q2 Revenue Rose 27% as Wholesale More Than Doubled

This is an English adaptation of a FoodBud historical article originally published on August 14, 2022.

On August 12, coffee brand Black Rifle Coffee reported second-quarter revenue of $66.365 million, up 27% year on year. Growth was mainly driven by rapid expansion in convenience-store wholesale and company-operated retail stores. Net loss attributable to the listed company was $10.755 million.

Channel Performance

Black Rifle Coffee’s DTC channel, mainly coffee-bean subscriptions, generated $36.962 million in Q2 revenue, down $2.9 million from the same period last year.

Wholesale, mainly ready-to-drink products, grew sharply from $9.8 million a year earlier to $23.971 million, up 145% year on year. Its convenience-store and retail-store network expanded from 30,300 locations as of June 30 last year to 66,800 locations as of June 30, 2022.

Retail-store revenue reached $5.432 million in Q2, up 98% year on year. The company had 10 stores.

As of June 30, Black Rifle Coffee reported 2.1 million consumers, 290,000 coffee subscription users, and 12.6 million social-media followers.

Outlook and Positioning

Black Rifle Coffee expected full-year 2022 revenue to reach $320 million. Its market capitalization was $2.16 billion at the time.

The company’s founder has a military background, and many senior executives also have military experience. Its social-media marketing and engagement are closely tied to that culture.

From a brand-culture perspective, the closest China comparison might be tea chain Bingliwang. From a business-model perspective, Shanghai-based AOKKA looks more similar.

There are differences. Black Rifle Coffee started on social media and built its early model around direct subscriptions for coffee beans and related products. AOKKA started with B2B coffee. The similarity is that both brands connect marketing and product usage to outdoor scenarios.

Black Rifle Coffee products are not only distributed through convenience stores and other retail channels, but also through outdoor-goods stores, where the brand may open shop-in-shop formats. The company also sells its own outdoor-related merchandise, such as apparel and cups.

For operators, the case highlights an alternative occasion strategy: while many coffee brands focus on stores and office consumption, outdoor scenarios can also be explored.

Note: the 2022 revenue outlook, market capitalization, and related IPO figures mentioned here are historical figures from the original 2022 article.