“BOMB Coffee wants to change what is going on in the industry … by creating a more natural alternative to energy drinks that can help our military and veterans stay awake so they can protect our country," co-founder Robert Pricipato told FoodNavigator-USA.
He explained that as a veteran, he remembers what it was like trying to stay awake in the service by drinking “all kinds” of energy drinks, even though he is a “really hardcore coffee drinker” in part because regular coffee often didn’t pack enough punch to keep him and his fellow service members up.
In addition, he said, he and others “over the years got tired of taking energy drinks” and longed for something more natural.
For Principato and his co-founders, who also are veterans, BOMB Coffee was that “something.” He explained that unlike most coffees currently available, which are blends of different beans from different regions, BOMB Coffee is 100% pure Robusto coffee beans, which the company claims is the world’s strongest coffee bean.
In fact, Principato said, a cup of coffee made from 100% pure Robusto delivers a “punch in the face of” twice as much caffeine on average than a typical cup of coffee made from more traditional Arabica bean.
The high caffeine content of Robusto can cause the beans to have a notoriously bitter flavor, which is why it typically accounts for only a small portion of other blends. But Principato said he and his team “scoured the globe” to find Robusto beans with the best flavor, which they then roasted with proprietary techniques, to create a “really smooth, signature flavor that doesn’t have the bitter aftertaste normally associated with the bean.”
He added that the flavor of the coffee is “very consistent” so that there is not an overwhelmingly “strong taste up front,” or an “aftertaste” at the end.
BOMB Coffee helps vets battling PTSD
But the founders of BOMB Coffee didn’t just want to create a good cup coffee that “doesn’t quit,” it also wanted to do good for members of the armed service, many of whom return home from tours “broken,” said Principato.
That is why the young company, which launched last July to commemorate Independence Day, will donate 22% of its sales in November to commemorate the 22 veterans who take their lives daily. The money will go to non-profits that work with service members and veterans grappling with PTSD. It also will go to organizations addressing the issue of veteran suicide, Principato said.
“Veterans’ Day weekend is the most important in the month of November, but that is just one day. We are going to take the whole month to talk about the ongoing issues [of PTSD and veterans suicide] and what they mean to our community,” Principato said. “We want to provide additional resources to help the community continue battling that epidemic.”
He acknowledged there already are many effective organizations addressing these issues and resources available to those in need, but the company wanted to offer additional help because “when you are a military member, that becomes your family. And we have seen so many people come home broken … and this is us helping our family out.”
BOMB Coffee is available online
To help boost sales for its cause, and its business, BOMB Coffee is currently focused on tapping social media and distributing the coffee online.
“Social media is a really good tool for entrepreneurs with a cause because it bands people together” around the cause – inspiring others to magnify the company’s message on larger and larger platforms, Principato said.
He added that down the road the company hopes to sell its military-themed coffee in retail stores, but until then it will continue to innovate with new blends, including its most recent Bourbon Blend, and spread the word online, Principato said.