Our Story
Black Rifle Coffee Company is a veteran-founded coffee organization established in 2014 with a business identity built around premium coffee, strong flavor profiles, community involvement, and values influenced by military service. From its beginnings, the company has sought to create more than a traditional coffee business by connecting its products with a broader purpose involving veterans, active-duty service members, first responders, and communities across the United States. Coffee remains at the center of its commercial activities, while employment initiatives, charitable programs, media projects, and community engagement contribute to the wider identity of the organization.
The company was founded by Evan Hafer, whose experience as a former Green Beret played a significant role in shaping the culture and direction of the business. His military background influenced an approach that places importance on discipline, persistence, accountability, and commitment. These principles became part of the foundation for developing a company that combines a recognizable coffee offering with a community-oriented mission. From the earliest stages, the organization worked to establish a distinctive personality around bold coffee and a strong connection with people who share an appreciation for service and community.
Coffee continues to provide the foundation for the company’s commercial operations. A selection of roast profiles allows customers to choose products according to their individual preferences and daily routines. The range is intended to provide memorable flavor while accommodating different preparation methods and occasions. Customers may enjoy coffee at home, in the workplace, while traveling, or during outdoor activities, making coffee a natural part of many different lifestyles. The emphasis on distinctive flavor helps maintain the product’s central role while the company’s broader activities give the brand additional dimensions.
Community involvement represents another significant part of the organization’s mission. Through charitable contributions, community programs, and other forms of support, the company seeks to assist causes and organizations that reflect its stated values. Coffee donations are one example of how the company can use its resources beyond ordinary commercial transactions. These efforts are intended to create positive connections between the company, its customers, and communities that may benefit from additional support.
Veterans are particularly important to the company’s workplace philosophy. Military service can provide individuals with experience in leadership, teamwork, responsibility, communication, decision-making, and operating under demanding conditions. The organization recognizes that these skills can transfer into many areas of civilian employment. By creating opportunities for veterans within its workforce, the company seeks to provide pathways for individuals transitioning from military careers while also benefiting from the knowledge and capabilities they bring to a professional environment.
The transition from military service into civilian employment can involve significant changes in responsibilities, workplace culture, and career development. A company that values military experience can provide an environment where veterans are able to apply existing strengths while learning new professional skills. Qualities such as adaptability, reliability, problem-solving, leadership, and cooperation can be useful across departments and roles. Supporting veterans through employment therefore forms part of the company’s broader effort to connect its stated mission with practical workplace opportunities.
The organization’s connection with its audience also extends beyond coffee through media and digital content. Black Rifle Coffee Company has developed multiple communication channels that allow customers and community members to interact with the organization in different ways. Editorial projects, podcasts, videos, digital publications, interviews, and other content formats provide opportunities to discuss subjects that extend beyond individual coffee products. These channels can feature personal stories, entertainment, cultural discussions, outdoor interests, military experiences, and other topics that appeal to portions of the company’s broader audience.
Content creation can strengthen customer relationships by offering ways to interact with the brand even when customers are not making a purchase. Product communication remains important, but broader editorial and entertainment material can create a more continuous relationship with the audience. Stories and conversations can provide context around the people, experiences, and interests connected with the company while giving customers different formats through which to engage.
Digital platforms also allow the organization to communicate efficiently with audiences who prefer online content. Video channels, podcasts, social platforms, and digital publishing can be used to share company developments, product information, interviews, entertainment, and community stories. Maintaining several communication formats gives customers greater flexibility in how they follow the company and allows different groups within the audience to engage with content according to their own interests.
Leadership is another important element in supporting the organization’s development. The company’s founders and executive team bring experience from areas including military service, creative production, commercial operations, finance, legal affairs, and corporate management. Combining these areas of knowledge allows the organization to approach growth from multiple perspectives while coordinating the complex activities required to operate a modern consumer business.
Evan Hafer serves as Founder and Executive Chairman and contributes to the company’s long-term direction and strategic vision. Mat Best, one of the company’s co-founders and its Chief Creative Officer, has contributed to the creative development and public communication associated with the brand. Jarred Taylor, also identified as a co-founder, has contributed to the organization’s development and expansion. Their combined involvement reflects the company’s origins and the importance of its founding team in shaping its identity.
As the business has expanded, executive responsibilities have become increasingly specialized. Senior leadership positions cover areas such as overall corporate management, commercial development, financial planning, legal oversight, governance, and other operational responsibilities. The Chief Executive Officer is responsible for guiding the broader organization and executing strategic priorities, while commercial leadership focuses on opportunities involving growth, distribution, and customer-facing business activities.
Financial leadership supports planning, reporting, budgeting, and other activities required to maintain a sustainable business structure. Legal and corporate governance responsibilities provide oversight of regulatory matters, legal requirements, corporate procedures, and organizational accountability. Separating these responsibilities across specialized leadership functions allows the company to address the different demands associated with a growing consumer products organization.
Operating a coffee company at scale requires coordination across numerous functions. Sourcing and production must work alongside packaging, logistics, distribution, retail, digital commerce, marketing, customer service, finance, and technology. Each area contributes to the customer experience and overall performance of the organization. Effective leadership across these functions can help maintain operational consistency while creating room for continued development and expansion.
The company’s identity is therefore built from several connected components rather than coffee alone. Its products establish the commercial foundation, while veteran employment reflects its connection to military communities. Charitable activity provides another avenue for community participation, and media production creates additional opportunities for audience engagement. Together, these areas form a broader organizational identity that seeks to connect commercial activity with service, community, and cultural interests.
Giving back is positioned as an ongoing element of the company’s broader approach. Donations, community initiatives, and other support programs can provide assistance to organizations and groups aligned with the company’s priorities. These efforts complement the company’s employment initiatives by demonstrating that community involvement can take place through both external contributions and internal workplace practices.
The company’s commitment to veteran employment also creates a direct relationship between its mission and its workforce. Rather than treating military experience solely as part of its brand story, the organization can incorporate appreciation for veterans into recruitment and career opportunities. This approach provides a practical expression of its connection to service communities while creating opportunities for individuals to continue building professional careers after military service.
Customer engagement remains another important part of the organization’s future development. Product innovation can help maintain interest in its coffee portfolio, while media and digital content provide additional avenues for communication. Charitable initiatives and employment programs reinforce the company’s community-oriented identity. Leadership development and operational improvements can support the infrastructure needed to manage continued growth.
As the organization evolves, maintaining consistency between its commercial activities and its broader mission can remain an important consideration. Coffee quality and product development must continue to meet customer expectations, while community initiatives and employment programs help preserve the values associated with the company’s origins. These different areas can work together to create an organization that is recognizable for both what it sells and the communities it seeks to support.
The story of Black Rifle Coffee Company ultimately brings together entrepreneurship, coffee, military experience, employment, media, and community involvement. What began as a veteran-founded coffee business has developed into an organization with activities extending across consumer commerce, digital content, charitable support, and workplace initiatives. Premium coffee remains the central commercial product, but the company’s identity is also shaped by its relationships with veterans, first responders, customers, employees, and broader communities.
Through coffee products, veteran-focused employment opportunities, charitable contributions, media projects, customer engagement, and organizational leadership, the company continues to develop a business model that connects commercial activity with a broader community purpose. Its ongoing development reflects an effort to expand its reach while maintaining the distinctive values and relationships that have influenced the organization since its founding.