Caribou Coffee
|
| Type |
Public (NASDAQ: CBOU) |
| Founded |
1993 |
| Headquarters |
Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Industry |
Restaurants |
| Website |
cariboucoffee.com |
Caribou Coffee was imagined by newlyweds John and Kim Puckett while traveling Denali National Park in Alaska. The couple raised money to start the first Caribou Coffee shop in Edina, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis, in 1993. 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 415 locations in fifteen states and Washington, D.C., making it the second largest operator of non-franchised coffeehouses in the United States, after Starbucks Corporation. 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).
Through its partnership with Rainforest Alliance, Caribou is committed to agriculturally, environmentally, and socially responsible coffee. By the end of 2008, half of all the green coffee Caribou buy will be Rainforest Alliance Certified.
Caribou Coffee is 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.
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.
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
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Categories: Retail company stubs | Coffeeshops | Companies based in Minnesota
