I had heard about this a while ago, but it looks like Beaner’s is officially going to change its name:
A small but growing coffeehouse chain is changing its name amid concern that the moniker meant to celebrate the seed of its main product also is a disparaging term for Hispanics.
Beaner’s Coffee, based in East Lansing, Mich., on Friday informed franchisees and employees at its 77 stores in Michigan and eight other states that it would become Biggby Coffee, effective Jan. 31.
“That just doesn’t really fall within our mission to have a name that is derogatory,” Bob Fish, 44, Beaner’s chief executive, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. “We felt it was important to do the right thing and change the name.”
Fish, who co-founded the company in 1995, said there hasn’t been any broad resistance or protests against the name, just people asking if the company knew about the connotation. And inquiries have grown as the company has — particularly in the southeast U.S., where it has five locations.
I’ve never been a coffee drinker, but I do like to pop into one of the Beaner’s in downtown Lansing every now and then for a smoothie or a hot chocolate or something. Like any good Spartan, I always preferred to patronize a business owned by two fellow Michigan State alums as opposed to that other famous coffee house chain.
Not sure if I’m crazy about the new name, but at least they won’t have to change their logo:
Biggby, he said, allows the company to rename without rebranding — Beaner’s logo is a big black ‘B’ with an orange background.
Hopefully this name change won’t affect business too much. The company has been going gangbusters lately:
Maher said Beaner’s is one of many regional players in the highly competitive coffee scene operating in the shadow of Starbucks, which has 9,000 U.S. stores and 14,000 globally. It opens a store every three hours on average, he said.
In fact, there is a steep drop between Starbucks and Caribou Coffee Co., which has about 480 stores in the U.S. He said one regional player worth watching is Peet’s Coffee & Tea Inc., with 150 shops nationally but most in California.
“It’s just been a tough business for somebody to acquire a real good franchise and consistently make money, other than Starbucks and Peet’s,” Maher said. “In terms of executing and developing a real strong following … it’s very difficult.”
Despite its small stature, Fish said Beaner’s has bucked the trend: It reported systemwide sales of $22 million last year, and projects more than $30 million this year. The company’s growth rate has doubled every two years and it plans to have 300 shops within five years, he said.
Farewell, Beaner’s. Hello Biggby.
Recent Comments