On their way to making the perfect ready-to-drink espresso martini, NuRange Coffee co-founders Collin Ricker and Zach Macaffer got a little sidetracked.
That’s not to say they haven’t been busy, though. While keeping their eyes on the ultimate goal, the pair managed to turn NuRange into an established premium RTD cold brew brand with solid distribution and a recently revamped product platform that includes an ultra-strength concentrate, a functional SKU and a self-heating can. For a couple of espresso martini-obsessed guys who quit their jobs to jump into the beverage game with no experience, things haven’t worked out too badly.
“We were the dumbest guys in the room when we launched the company,” Ricker admitted while speaking with BevNET earlier this month. “We know nothing about roasting so we said let’s leave that to the experts and focus on what we know, which is cold brew.”
NuRange’s cold brew concentrate, the base liquid for all its coffee products, is the foundation upon which the company has been built (and rebuilt) since launching in 2020, but that wasn’t by design. While grappling with the challenge of creating a custom liqueur with vodka and coffee, the brand launched non-alcoholic cold brews as its Trojan horse into the coffee market, initially marketing regular black and CBD-infused versions in 8 oz. cans, priced between $2.99 and $3.99. The taste worked to win over consumers during demos, Ricker said, but the branding left room for confusion; “We just made what we thought looked cool,” he noted.
Despite that, NuRange found enough solid ground to grow, landing in chains like Walmart and Whole Foods (22 stores in the Rocky Mountain Region), plus Albertsons (via their preferred local DSD partners) and Kroger (via a direct buyer connection) without paying slotting fees. That sustained it through a sub-$1 million funding round last June which also brought robust CPG business experience onto the cap table.
The capital infusion sparked the major brand overhaul on display at this month’s Expo West show, highlighted by a design makeover that brings the product’s key callouts to the forefront in clear, bold copy. For the zero-sugar black version, the brand has swapped out CBD (“A nightmare,” in Ricker’s words) with a pair of new non-dairy SKUs: Creamy Vanilla Latte (with coconut cream and MCT oil) and zero-sugar Cold Brew With Benefits, those being L-theanine for “no jitters no crash.” There’s also the extra-strength pure coffee concentrate, a D2C play that makes over 30 servings per 8 oz. bottle. And then there’s that self-heating coconut cream latte, described by Ricker as a “fun test project.”
“You live and you learn,” said the co-founder. “We came into this knowing we didn’t know anything — it took two years and now we’re figuring it out and we have a lot of stores somehow. We’re still shocked we got into as many chains and distributors as we did, and it’s doing well, but with this rebrand everyone’s very excited to push it out on the shelves.”
Even as that side of the business advances, NuRange’s real target is in sight. After over two years of work, the brand’s RTD espresso martini is finally done and ready to hit stores, pending TTB approval. The final package will be a 750ml bottle (12% ABV) made with premium vodka, coffee concentrate and a custom made coconut creme liqueur. Ricker sees the offering as an opportunity to simplify life for bartenders — both in making espresso martinis and ringing them up — while providing consumers with a superior quality alternative to existing canned versions. With its other products directed to online and to grocery retail, the espresso martini will go after hotels, restaurants and foodservice.
“We actually are kind of lucky in the sense that people know about the fact that we were supposed to be an Espresso Martini company and that we’ve been working on it. So we have a ton of accounts and distributors that are just eager to take it once it’s ready.”
NuRange is set to face a range of competitors once it enters the space, spanning from startups like Apres Hours, Golden Hours, Blossom and Tip Top Proper Cocktails to major brands like Kahlua and Chameleon Cold Brew, which showcased its own offering at Expo West this month. Monthly search volume for Espresso Martinis grew 23% year-over-year through February, according to data firm Glimpse.
Ricker acknowledged that the launch of NuRange’s espresso martini may spark further changes in the company, particularly if it begins to drive the majority of revenue. But for now, the company is taking it slow, looking to strategically roll out the product in its backyard in Colorado before targeting New York and California next. And though they may not be the “dumbest in the room” any longer, that sentiment still has some resonance.
“Our motto is kind of just dumb it down and give the people what they want,” Ricker said. “You can talk about the 40 different unique cupping profiles of coffee but at the end of the day, no one cares. Give them something that tastes good, is good quality and you’re doing the right thing along the way for the planet and for the farmers, and people should understand.”