Chamberlain Coffee made its much anticipated ready-to-drink debut last week, partnering exclusively with Walmart to release its four-SKU line of canned plant-based lattes and further extend the influencer-driven coffee brand’s reach.
The launch had originally been scheduled for early May, but Chamberlain Coffee CEO Christopher Gallant explained in an email that the date was moved up to hit store shelves, Walmart.com and the retailer’s app simultaneously. The dairy-free line includes four flavors — Mocha Latte, Cinnamon Bun Latte, Vanilla Latte and Cold Brew Latte — in 12 ounce slim cans, each of which are sweetened with date syrup and made with almond milk and coconut cream. All SKUs contain 70 mg caffeine, 110-120 calories and 1 gram of sugar per can. The listed unit price on Walmart.com is $2.98.
In a press release, Chamberlain Coffee founder and YouTube star Emma Chamberlain called the RTD collection, inspired by her daily cold brew recipe, “a product I have been dreaming of making since we started the brand.”
“We’re inspired by all of the ways you can enjoy coffee, and are eager to continue exploring innovative coffee products,” she said.
Founded by Emma Chamberlain in 2019, Chamberlain Coffee started off as a D2C brand that marketed a range of organic blends in whole bean, ground, pods and steeped varieties. Since then, the business has grown into categories such as matcha, hot chocolate and chocolate covered espresso beans and into flavored blends (Witty Fox Hazelnut and Fluffy Lamb Vanilla) while expanding beyond D2C into limited retail with partners including Sprouts, Bristol Farms and Erewhon, Pop Up Grocer and digital delivery market Gopuff. Last August, the brand announced it had closed a $7 million funding round led by venture builder Blazar Capital and Chamberlain herself.
The brand had previously flirted with RTDs through a collaboration with low-calorie lemonade maker Swoon last year.
Describing the Walmart launch as a “big moment for the brand,” Gallant said Chamberlain was well prepared to adapt quickly to the new launch date across the organization. The brand’s founder and namesake has taken a leading role in building awareness around the RTD release on her social channels, on her podcast and in one-on-one media interviews, while also shooting a commercial and conducting photoshoots.
The entrepreneur was a “big part” of the brand’s RTD-specific activation at this year’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival earlier this month, he said.
Within the current RTD coffee set, Chamberlain Coffee’s products are positioned to offer popular indulgent flavors with less sugar and no dairy. The line will face competition from the likes of La Colombe, Pop & Bottle (another brand with close ties to Walmart) and Dunkin’, which launched a three-SKU line of iced coffees in 11 ounce cans in February.