What is Dutch Bros?
Drive-thru beverage chain scaling coffee, energy drinks, loyalty, and company-operated shop growth across the U.S.
- Category
- Drive-thru beverages
- Headquarters
- Tempe, AZ
- Founded
- 1992
- Employees
- ~32,000 incl. franchise partners
- Total funding
- Public; IPO raised ~$556.8M
- Status
- NYSE: BROS; ~$12-13B market cap
What is Dutch Bros?
Dutch Bros is a public drive-thru beverage company known for coffee, Rebel energy drinks, flavored beverages, and a high-energy service culture.
Dutch Bros operates and franchises drive-thru shops focused on speed, customization, and repeat daily beverage occasions. The company reported 1,177 locations across 25 states as of March 31, 2026, up from 1,136 shops at year-end 2025.
Fiscal 2025 revenue was about $1.64 billion, up roughly 28% year over year, and adjusted EBITDA was about $303 million. The model has shifted increasingly toward company-operated shops, which gives Dutch Bros more control over openings, labor, menu execution, order-ahead, loyalty, and shop-level data.
The company competes with Starbucks, Dunkin, Scooter's Coffee, and convenience-led beverage trips, but its differentiation is drive-thru speed plus customized drinks. Its digital engine is important: Dutch Rewards and the app drive repeat visits, promotions, and order-ahead behavior across a rapidly expanding national footprint.
What does Dutch Bros offer?
Dutch Bros sells customizable drive-thru beverages, snacks, app-based rewards, order-ahead, and franchised or company-operated shop experiences.
- Coffee and espresso drinks· Beverages
- Dutch Bros Rebel energy drinks· Beverages
- Cold brew, teas, lemonades, and freezes· Beverages
- Protein coffee and seasonal drinks· Menu innovation
- Dutch Rewards· Loyalty
- Order Ahead· Mobile app
How does Dutch Bros make money?
Dutch Bros earns revenue from company-operated shop sales, franchise royalties and fees, and beverage-driven repeat traffic through drive-thru shops.
The majority of Dutch Bros revenue comes from company-operated shops: customers buy drinks at the window, through order-ahead, or through app-linked loyalty visits. The company also earns franchise royalties and fees from franchise shops, although its recent growth emphasis is company-operated expansion.
Pricing is item, size, modification, and market specific rather than a single nationwide tariff. Customers typically pay per beverage, with add-ons and customization raising ticket size, while loyalty promotions and sticker-drop culture are designed to lift frequency.
Unit economics are driven by shop openings, traffic, beverage mix, labor, coffee and dairy costs, real estate, and speed of service. For vendors, the most relevant budget pools sit in real estate and construction, shop operations, training, loyalty, mobile ordering, demand forecasting, payment, workforce management, and supply chain.
Who leads Dutch Bros?
Dutch Bros is led by CEO and President Christine Barone, with co-founder Travis Boersma as Executive Chairman and a public-company management team around growth, finance, and operations.
- Christine BaroneChief Executive Officer and PresidentJoined Dutch Bros in 2023Former True Food Kitchen CEO and Starbucks executive leading national expansion and public-company execution.
- Travis BoersmaCo-founder and Executive ChairmanCo-founder since 1992Co-founded Dutch Bros with his brother Dane Boersma and remains central to culture and board-level direction.
- Josh GuenserChief Financial OfficerCFO appointment announced in 2024Owns finance, reporting, capital allocation, and investor messaging for the expansion plan.
- Brian MaxwellChief Operating OfficerExecutive management teamRelevant executive for shop operations, throughput, field execution, and scaling company-operated stores.
How do you contact Dutch Bros' leadership?
Dutch Bros publishes investor and media contacts, but no verified personal executive email pattern was found; use the public company aliases and contact pages instead of guessed personal emails.
No verified executive email format; public aliases include investors@dutchbros.com and published media contacts.How is Dutch Bros capitalized?
Dutch Bros is a public NYSE company backed historically by TSG Consumer Partners and public investors after a 2021 IPO that generated about $556.8 million of gross proceeds.
Dutch Bros should be treated as a public restaurant/beverage growth company, not a startup with current VC rounds. Its major capital events include TSG Consumer Partners backing before the public listing, the September 2021 IPO, and credit-facility financing used to support expansion.
The IPO sold Class A shares at $23 and generated about $556.8 million of gross proceeds including the underwriters' option. The 2025 annual report describes a company still investing heavily in new shops, with debt and lease obligations that are more relevant to capitalization than private-round totals.
For sellers, the capital signal is expansion-oriented. Dutch Bros is funding new shops, order-ahead adoption, loyalty, operations, and corporate systems while also balancing public-market expectations for adjusted EBITDA, shop contribution margin, and disciplined capital expenditures.
How did Dutch Bros get here?
Dutch Bros grew from an Oregon pushcart coffee business to a public drive-thru beverage chain with more than 1,100 shops.
- 1992Dutch Bros foundedBrothers Dane and Travis Boersma start Dutch Bros in Grants Pass, Oregon.
- 2018TSG Consumer Partners investmentPrivate-equity backing helps support national growth and professionalization before the IPO.
- Sep 2021NYSE IPODutch Bros lists on the NYSE under BROS and raises about $556.8 million in gross proceeds.
- 2023Christine Barone joinsThe former True Food Kitchen CEO joins Dutch Bros and later leads the company as CEO and President.
- 20251,136 shops and ~$1.64B revenueDutch Bros ends fiscal 2025 with 1,136 shops and record annual revenue.
- Q1 20261,177 locationsDutch Bros reports 1,177 locations across 25 states as of March 31, 2026.
Who are Dutch Bros' competitors?
Dutch Bros competes with national coffee chains, drive-thru coffee specialists, and beverage-led convenience occasions.
- StarbucksGlobal coffeehouse leader with broad cafe, drive-thru, app, and food scale.
- Dunkin'Large franchised coffee and breakfast chain with strong morning-routine positioning.
- Scooter's CoffeeDrive-thru coffee chain with a similar small-footprint convenience model.
- Black Rock Coffee BarRegional coffee and energy-drink chain with drive-thru and community-oriented positioning.
- 7 BrewFast-growing drive-thru beverage concept focused on custom drinks and speed.
- Tim HortonsLarge coffee, breakfast, and baked-goods brand competing for convenience beverage occasions.
Dutch Bros — frequently asked questions
