Caribou Coffee is Minnesota’s most beloved coffee destination.  Based predominantly in the midwest, in 2013 the company had aspirations to grow its footprint throughout the world.  This required an increase in revenue streams beyond the typical morning beverage purchase into afternoons and evenings with more options to purchase food.

In the Fall of 2013 I led the R&D team through quick rounds of consumer research and identified the opportunity to offer a café line of sandwiches that satisfied consumer taste preferences as well as operational management needs. With the help of key vendor partners, Caribou installed new equipment, launched promotional tactics, tested the financial impact, and then quickly introduced the product platform into all of its stores in May of 2014.

It was a fast, results-driven process that drove more customers into stores throughout the day, while leading to a 7% increase in Caribou’s revenue.