Farmer Brothers

Farmer Bros. Co. is an American coffee foodservice company based in Irving, Texas. The company specializes in the manufacture and distribution of coffee, tea, and approximately 300 other foodservice items used by restaurants and other establishments. John Moore serves as the company's president and chief executive officer.

Company history

In 1912, Roy E. Farmer started a small business roasting coffee beans and selling them door to door in Los Angeles, California. Following a decade of success, Farmer incorporated in 1923 while simultaneously expanding the scope of the company to include the sale of coffee equipment, marked by the acquisition of Western Urn Manufacturing. As the company grew, it began opening branch locations throughout California, quickly establishing a notable presence in developing San Francisco. Starting in the 1930s, Farmer Brothers diversified to include the sale and distribution of not just coffee beans and equipment, but a wider selection of supporting foodservice items. By 1939, the company was roasting and selling more than 3 million pounds of coffee a year.

In 1942, the Farmer Brothers plant retooled to support the war effort, with female machinists producing highly technical parts and equipment to supply the military. In 1949, the company opened a 20-acre, state-of-the-art headquarters and production facility in Torrance, California, increasing its sales to more than 14 million pounds of coffee a year.

When Roy E. Farmer died in 1951 at the age of 59, his son, Roy F. Farmer assumed control of the company. The transition proved hard on the company as the younger Farmer was forced to take the company public in 1952. listed on the NASDAQ market under the symbol FARM. As Roy F. settled, he was able to greatly improve production efficiency and increase profit margins. The company expanded its portfolio to include herbs, spices and seasonings in 1963 and launched its Office Coffee Division in 1972, before expanding nationwide in 1988.

In the following years of Roy F. Farmer's tenure as chairman, chief executive officer and president, the company reached a peak of $240 million in sales in 1998. At this point, the company had nearly 100 branches in 29 states in the western U.S. At this same time, however, the company became mired in shareholder unrest, Shareholders demanded greater transparency into the company's operations and market strategy, wanted executives to work with Wall Street analysts and sought to add independent directors to the board. Despite this, the company remained fairly private and closed to the public. At the time of Roy F. Farmer's death in 2004, following a more than 50-year stint heading the company (he was 87) a successor had not been named.

In the years following Farmer's death, Guenter Berger served as chief executive and Roy E. Farmer left the company for a time. Sometime later, Roger M. Laverty III was appointed as chief executive officer and president and during his time , Farmer Brothers acquired Coffee Bean International Tand its Panache brand in Portland, Oregon in 2007 and the direct store delivery coffee business of Sara Lee in 2009. The later acquisition was for a reported $45 million. He served until April 2011. At that point, Jeffrey Wahba (treasurer and chief financial officer) and Patrick Criteser (president and chief executive officer of Coffee Bean International) were appointed by the board as co-CEOs on an interim basis.

Farmer Brothers established its first Direct Trade partnership in 2010 and opened its Public Domain Coffee House in Portland, Oregon. The company celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2012 and appointed Michael Keown as its new chief executive officer and president in March of that year. Keown came to the company from WhiteWave Foods, a subsidiary of Dean Foods Company. Then on April 15, 2013, Farmer Bros. appointed Mark Nelson as its new CFO.

On April 28, 2015, Farmer Brothers announced the move of its headquarters from Torrance, California to Northlake, Texas and expanded its Project D.I.R.E.C.T. initiative in Nicaragua.

In 2016, Farmer Brothers acquired China Mist Tea and Boyd's Coffee and West Coast Coffee shortly thereafter in 2017. The company expanded its Project D.I.R.E.C.T. initiative to Brazil in 2018. Deverl Maserang was appointed chief executive officer and president in September 2019 and Scott Drake as CFO in March 2020. It launched its Revive Equipment Service & Restoration, entered into a partnership with High Brew Coffee and opened a more than 150,000-square-foot West coast distribution center in Rialto, California in 2021.It sold its direct ship business in June 2023 to Treehouse Foods. John Moore was named president and CEO in May 2024

Public Domain Coffee

The acquisition of Coffee Bean International by Farmer Brothers was part of the company's expansion into "specialty coffee". As an outgrowth of that initiative, Public Domain was established in April 2010. A subsidiary of Farmer Brothers, Public Domain is the company's flagship coffeehouse which also serves as a lab and training facility for their baristas. The establishment is nationally recognized and is located in downtown Portland, Oregon (as is the headquarters of Coffee Bean International). In what some reviewers have dubbed a "cautiously designed corporate coffeehouse for high-quality coffee", Farmer Brothers showcases its "top shelf" coffees.

References

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Coffee companies of the United States
Companies based in Texas
American companies established in 1912
Food and drink companies established in 1912
1912 establishments in California
Companies listed on the Nasdaq
Food and drink companies of the United States