When Trident Coffee founder and CEO Eric Johnson left the Navy in 2016, he was at a loss for what to do next after seven years stationed abroad: “I went to a job fair and had a panic attack,” he said, telling BevNET that he couldn’t bear to take a standard office job.
The following year, inspired by the thriving craft beer community in San Diego, California where he is based and his passion for cold brewing coffee at home, Johnson launched Trident — a wholesale bean business and RTD cold brew brand. The company also operates a 3,000 square foot tap room and brewery which sells up to 15 different coffees on draft at any given time.
“We see a lot of cold brews that only use one type of coffee, so we try to spice ours up in different ways,” Johnson said. “Coffee really is a craft beverage that needs to be treated that way. We source our coffee from 11 different countries and we roast everything differently and add different ingredients to compliment flavor profiles.”
Trident’s RTD products are currently available online direct-to-consumer and in about 125 retail stores across Southern California, including Jimbo’s, Jensen’s and Boney’s Bayside Market, as well as various independent accounts. Johnson said the company aims to grow its store count to over 500 doors this year and is in discussions with chain retailers and gym accounts to carry the brand throughout Southern California before a broader West Coast and Southwest regional expansion in 2021.
The RTD line include three nitrogen-infused black coffee varieties — Trident (made with Brazilian beans), Calm Under Pressure (Bali beans infused with cacao nibs) and Son of a Son of a Sailor (Mexican beans infused with cocoa nibs and cinnamon) — as well as an MCT oil-infused SKU called Ambrotos. Each 12 oz. can retails for $3.99-4.99 and is distributed cold chain.
According to Johnson, Trident’s branding is modeled after his Navy background and each SKU attempts to “tell a story” with its name and coffee source. For example, the inspiration to source beans from Bali for Calm Under Pressure came from the Indonesian island’s significance as a combat zone during World War II.
“There’s a lot of wreckage out that way,” he said. “The name ‘Calm Under Pressure’ reminds people to be mindful of their situation, be thoughtful and be present when stress comes.”
Trident currently has 12 full time employees, including co-owner and master brewer Matt Johnson, a former chef. The company has to date been bootstrapped, but Eric Johnson said it is currently in the middle of its first friends and family financing round which is expected to close at the end of February. He said he has received guidance and advice from several San Diego area craft beer brewers, and is seeking to add more expertise to the company through advisers and directors with beverage industry experience.
Johnson said the company aims to have broad consumer appeal, though it has thus far primarily focused on marketing its functional beverages to the fitness community. In addition to Ambrotos, the brand also sells its own emulsified MCT oil and marine collagen peptides, with Johnson crediting butter coffee maker Bulletproof with raising consumer awareness of the ingredients. As well, Johnson said he is exploring introducing additional functionality in future innovations, including L-Theanine to reduce caffeine-induced jitters.
“People are becoming aware that fat isn’t really a bad thing,” he said. “We get people who regularly come in [to the tap room] and they’re implementing keto and lower carb diets. They look better, they feel better, so that’s where we see our strengths lying — by being the market leader in developing the MCT oil line.”