2025 Year in Review: Coffee Business News

Underneath the dark cloud of tariffs that hung over the coffee industry for much of the year, the business of specialty coffee carried on at a breakneck pace. 

Among the highest-profile mergers and acquisitions were Keurig Dr Pepper’s ongoing acquisition of JDE Peet’s, with a coffee super-conglomerate expected to result, and the Specialty Coffee Association’s takeover of the Q program from CQI. 

Meanwhile, popular retail chains such as Phil’z Coffee, Gregorys Coffee and Caffe Luxxe are all ending the year under new corporate ownership. 

Here are more of the biggest coffee business news stories of 2025, including headlines covering regulatory and legal issues, investments and expansions, and some unfortunate closures. 

Daily Coffee News’ 2025 Year in Review is our annual look back at the people, places and ideas that shaped coffee this year. Read the full series.

Mergers and Acquisitions

Keurig Dr Pepper Acquiring JDE Peet’s for $18 Billion, Forming Mega Conglomerate

Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) is acquiring coffee conglomerate JDE Peet’s in a transaction valued at approximately $18 billion, with plans to form the world’s largest pure-play coffee company. Following the acquisition’s completion, KDP plans to separate into two independent publicly traded companies through a tax-free spin-off. The coffee-focused company will be called Global Coffee Co… read more

Emotions and Details Emerge as Specialty Coffee Association Plans Takeover of ‘the Q’

On Thursday, April 23, the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) announced it is taking over what’s known as “the Q,” the flagship education and certification platform of the nonprofit Coffee Quality Institute. Coming on the eve of the SCA’s flagship North American trade show in Houston, the announcement on behalf of two of the coffee industry’s most influential and historically impactful nonprofit organizations elicited a broad range of emotions from specialty coffee professionals, many of them negative… read more

Report: Private Equity Firm Preparing to Buy Philz Coffee for $145 Million

San Francisco independent coffee institution Philz Coffee is in the process of selling its business to the private equity firm Freeman Spogli & Co. for $145 million, as first reported by Mission Local. According to the report, which cited documents shared with Philz stakeholders, the deal would result in the cancelation of common stock held by employees. The deal would also involve payouts for board members, including founder and former CEO Phil Jaber, his son Jacob Jaber and current CEO Mahesh Sadarangani… read more

Caffe Luxxe Acquired by Sugarfina in $24.5 Million Stock Deal

Premium candy chain Sugarfina has acquired Los Angeles-based specialty coffee company Caffe Luxxe in a deal valued at approximately $24.5 million. The 100% common stock deal involves a reverse triangular merger, through which Artisanal Expressions Inc. (doing business as Caffe Luxxe) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sugarfina… read more

Raleigh’s Black and White Coffee Roasters Now Part of FairWave Collective

Raleigh, North Carolina-based Black & White Coffee Roasters is now part of FairWave, continuing FairWave’s five-year streak of acquisitions in the high-end specialty coffee industry. Black & White, founded in 2017 by past US Barista Champions Kyle Ramage and Lem Butler, becomes the 11th brand, and the first in North Carolina, under the FairWave “collective” umbrella… read more

Craveworthy Takes Managing Stake in NYC Chain Gregorys Coffee

Fast food franchise specialist Craveworthy Brands has made an undisclosed investment in New York City-born coffee chain Gregorys Coffee, becoming the managing partner with ambitious expansion plans. Craveworthy said it plans to accelerate Gregorys’ retail growth and launch franchising in the fourth quarter of 2025. Gregory Zamfotis, who founded the business with a single cafe in 2006, will stay on as brand president… read more

Germany’s Cup&Cino Group Acquires Swiss Brewer Maker Tone

Germany’s Cup&Cino Group has acquired Swiss manufacturer Tone, bringing the boilerless brewing equipment company under a four-brand umbrella that includes Cup&Cino, BaristaOne and Latte Art Factory. The deal includes the Tone brand as well as its global distribution network, according to announcement from the companies on Nov. 21. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed… read more

FreshBrew Acquires White Coffee’s Licensed Coffee Business

Houston-based private-label coffee company FreshBrew acquired the licensed-branded coffee division of New York-based White Coffee, a move that the private companies say gives FreshBrew “the nation’s largest portfolio of licensed bagged coffee and K-Cup products.” The financial terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed. Through the deal, White Coffee executives Jonathan White and Gregory White will join FreshBrew to lead the newly expanded retail division… read more

Longtime Starbucks Machine Partner Thermoplan Acquires Mikafi Roasters

Swiss super-automatic coffee machine maker Thermoplan recently acquired Mikafi, a novel electric coffee roasting machine brand for commercial applications. Thermoplan, which has produced many thousands of Starbucks store coffee machines over the past 26 years, had previously served as an investor and development partner to the startup… read more

Sur La Table Acquires Coffee Equipment Specialist Seattle Coffee Gear

Kitchen equipment retailer Sur La Table is acquiring 20-year-old online home coffee equipment seller Seattle Coffee Gear. Sur La Table, which was founded in Seattle and now has physical locations in 24 states, described the acquisition as an “asset purchase.” Neither the financial terms of the sale, nor the specific assets included in the sale, were disclosed… read more

Regulatory and Legal Issues

Trump Order Eliminates All Tariffs on Brazilian Coffee

President Donald Trump signed an executive order yesterday removing the remaining 40% tariff on Brazilian coffee, effectively restoring coffee-tariff policy to pre-“Liberation Day” norms… read more

U.S. Congressional Coffee Caucus Launches to Promote Industry

U.S. Representatives Jill Tokuda (D-HI) and William Timmons (R-SC) yesterday launched the Congressional Coffee Caucus, a first-of-its-kind caucus supporting the coffee industry. The Congressional Caucus, which has been months in the making, comes as the coffee industry is facing an unprecedented threat of higher prices due to the United States’ own tariffs on foreign goods… read more

Starbucks to Pay Hourly Workers $35.5 Million in NYC Labor Settlement

Starbucks has agreed to pay nearly $39 million to settle New York City claims that it routinely violated local scheduling rules at hundreds of stores, marking the largest worker-protection settlement in the city’s history. Under an agreement announced Monday by Mayor Eric Adams and the city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), Starbucks will pay more than $35.5 million in restitution to more than 15,000 current and former hourly workers… read more

Investor Sues Michigan Retirement Fund Over Failed Kona Hills Project

A Florida agricultural lender has sued the operator of a Michigan retirement fund over a failed investment in a large Kona coffee venture, alleging the fund and its partners misled the lender about the project’s condition and prospects. Filed in Polk County Circuit Court on Dec. 1, the complaint by Lakeland, Florida-based AgAmerica Lending LLC targets the Municipal Employees’ Retirement System of Michigan (MERS) and other defendants connected to the Kona Hills Coffee project on Hawaii Island… read more

Black Rifle Coffee Facing Class Action Over USA-Forward Branding

Black Rifle Coffee Company is facing a federal class action alleging that its “America’s Coffee” branding and flag-heavy packaging misleads shoppers into thinking they are buying coffee produced entirely in the United States. The case may have broad impact on product marketing strategies in the U.S. coffee industry, which relies on imports of green coffee from high-elevation countries within the tropics… read more

Keurig Pod Recyclability Class Action in Canada Heads Toward Settlement

In the latest of several cases alleging Keurig made false or misleading claims about the recyclability of its plastic coffee pods, Keurig Canada has agreed to a CA$1.85 million (US$1.3 million) class-action settlement. The nationwide class action alleges Keurig marketed the pods as recyclable even though, in many municipalities, the pods weren’t accepted in local recycling systems… read more

Federal Court Issues $31 Million Judgement in Green Coffee Dispute

A federal judge in Florida issued a $31 million judgment in favor of green coffee trader Neumann Gruppe USA Inc. after hundreds of containers of green coffee from Nicaragua were never delivered. The judgment — first issued in May then amended in June by U.S. District Court Judge Jacqueline Becerra — followed a lengthy bench trial in January, after which the judge described the testimony of the defendant as largely not credible… read more

Expansions and Contractions

Starbucks Cutting 900 Non-Retail Jobs and Closing More Stores

Seattle-based coffee giant Starbucks is planning to lay off 900 U.S. corporate staff members tomorrow morning, according to an open letter from CEO Brian Niccol. “Unless your job specifically requires you to be on site in the office, we’re asking you to work from home today and tomorrow,” Niccol wrote in the letter, dated Sept. 25, adding that the company plans to “offer generous severance and support packages including benefits extensions.”… read more

Black Rock Coffee Bar Files for IPO, Seeks to Raise $265 Million

Black Rock Coffee Bar, the drive-thru-focused chain that started as a single stand in Oregon in 2008, officially filed for an IPO, while outlining long-term plans for national store growth. In a prospectus filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dated Aug. 18, the company said it plans to price shares at $16 to $18, targeting $265 million in gross proceeds and a valuation near $861 million… read more

Westrock Coffee Opens Massive Pod Factory in Arkansas

Central Arkansas-based Westrock Coffee Company just expanded its manufacturing footprint with the opening of a 525,000-square-foot facility in Conway devoted to coffee pod production. With 130,000 square feet dedicated to manufacturing and the remainder dedicated to fulfillment and distribution, the new plant is designed to meet growing demand in the pod category, including existing clients who are “some of the largest retail and coffee brands in North America,” according to the company… read more

Brazilian Coffee Traders Atlantica and Cafebras File for Bankruptcy

Brazilian coffee exporting companies Atlântica Exportação e Importação SA (Atlantica) and Cafebras Comércio de Cafés do Brasil SA (Cafebras) — both part of the Montesanto Tavares Group — have filed for bankruptcy. The companies said they are seeking protection from creditors, with debt totaling 2.13 billion reais (US$367 million, as of this writing)… read more

Voga Coffee, Maker of Ground Control Brewers, Ceases Operations

Voga Coffee LLC, the Oakland, California-based maker of innovative Ground Control batch coffee brewing machines, has ceased operations. The company, which first launched onto the specialty coffee scene with a working prototype of its first Ground Control brewer in 2016, is no longer directly offering sales or service, and all 18 of its full-time staff members have been laid off, Daily Coffee News confirmed… read more

Coffee Shop Software Provider Odeko Nears $300 Million in Funding

New York-based business operations software provider Odeko, which specializes in the coffee shop and cafe solutions, said it raised $96 million through its latest Series E funding round. In addition to the $96 million bump led by the venture capital firm B Capital the company announced a $30 million credit facility from Bank of California, as well as its acquisition of a New York-based small business insurance startup called Butter Insurance… read more