Black Rifle Coffee (BRCC) continues to perk after hot IPO
By Daniel Tyson
17:54, 11 February 2022
Black Rifle Coffee Company’s (BRCC) stocks continued perking Friday a day after the veteran owned and operated business’s successful $1.7bn (£1.3bn) initial public offering (IPO).
The coffee seller’s stock jumped 23% in mid-morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange before giving back some gains. Shares were up about 2% to $15.91 at 13:35 ET (UTC-5).
The price-to-earning ratio was an unheard of 100.
Prior to its market debut, BRCC’s parent company Authentic Brand merged with the blank cheque firm SilverBox Engaged Merger Corp I. Black Rifle said the IPO will help it hire 10,000 US military veterans.
Black Rifle Coffee Company stock jumped 43% in the company's first day of trading after completing a de-SPACing transaction.
Under the business combination, BRCC will add up to $150m in cash to its balance sheets to fast track its digital-first, omnichannel strategy to expand, the company said in a statement. SPAC Silverbox Engaged Merger Corp I shares shot up 17% when shareholders approved the merger with Authentic Brand.
BRCC’s sales venues are mainly specialty retailers, grocers, and direct-to-consumers. Recently, the company has focused on franchise opportunities.
Calls to analysts and BRCC by Capital.com went unanswered Friday morning.
Pro-gun causes
In the coffee wars, BRCC seeks to attract customers by deploying an aggressive pro-US, pro-gun, pro-military brand identity with product named AK Espresso, Silencer Smooth and Freedom Roast.
BRCC proclaims it is the anti-Starbucks, with political messaging via a podcast and print magazine, proclaiming it is “building upon the mission to serve coffee and culture to people who love America” while its target audience is the active-duty military, veterans and first-responders.
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MAGA crowd
The marketing strategy appears to reflect a play on former President Donald Trump rallies with slogans like “Make Coffee Great Again” and “Coffee or Die”. Often the slogan is next to the Tea Party symbol of a dissected snake.
Earlier this week, BRCC’s CEO Evan Hafer said his company plans to double its advertising budget for Joe Rogan’s podcast, which has about 11 million listeners. Rogan is a controversial personality for his past usage of the N-word and well-publicised pushing Covid-19 conspiracy and false claims.
"He's probably one of the best men, I think, in America to be the voice for an entire generation," Hafer said of Rogan on Fox News.
Numerous artists announced in the last couple weeks plans to pull their music from Spotify over Rogan’s comments, including Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Nils Lofrgen, David Crosby and Stephen Stills.
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