Chameleon Cold-Brew is the number one organic cold-brew brand in the U.S., which is one of the reasons that Nestlé USA, being the world’s largest coffee producer, had to have it. The Switzerland maker of Nespresso and Nescafe acquired the cold-brew brand after being criticized for reacting too slow to consumer’s changing habits.
The coffee company recently acquired a majority stake in Blue Bottle Coffee, a California based specialty coffee roaster and retailer. This offers Nestlé opportunities to grow in the super premium ready-to-drink, roast and ground coffee section. The acquisition of Chameleon allows Nestlé to expand its wings in the cold-brew coffee area, which has grown in popularity over the past years.
Nestlé USA succeeds in responsible coffee sourcing and made a commitment to help secure the future of coffee. They work directly with farmers to make sure crops are healthy and coffee farming is sustainable.
Chameleon Cold-Brew CEO says Nestlé was the best choice
“Chameleon has been extremely fortunate to grow from our hometown base of cold-brew lovers in Austin to a national brand in just a few short years,” said Chris Campbell in public remarks, co-founder and chief executive officer of Chameleon Cold-Brew. “Partnering with a world-class company like Nestle will give us the opportunity to do so on a bigger platform. Our shared values around product integrity and commitment to sustainability made Nestlé the best choice to enable Chameleon Cold-Brew to accomplish our goals for the future.”
Chameleon was founded in 2010 and employs 38. They consist of multi-serve concentrates, single-serve, ready-to-drink products, with two of the segments representing 18% of the $2.5 billion in-home coffee category. Their drinks are available as ready-to-drink cold brews, concentrates, cold brew kits and whole bean coffee. Retailers that carry their products are Whole Foods, Target, Albertson’s, Safeway and Bed, Bath and Beyond.
“We believe the Chameleon brand is perfectly positioned to support Nestlé’s strategy for coffee, which is to have a variety of offerings in terms of format, taste and price points,” said Paul Grimwood, chairman and CEO of Nestle USA.