Fairwave Acquires Minneapolis-Based Up Coffee Roasters, Seeks Continued Midwest Growth

Roasted Coffee from Up Coffee Roasters. Courtesy photo.

Kansas City, Missouri-based Fairwave Holdings (styled as FairWave) has added a fourth major specialty coffee brand to its portfolio, acquiring the Minneapolis-based coffee roasting company Up Coffee Roasters.

The move comes one year after Kansas City, Missouri-based Fairwave acquired Minneapolis-based roaster and retailer Spyhouse Coffee Roasters. Fairwave made its public launch just over two years ago with the conjoining of two popular Kansas City-area specialty coffee companies, Messenger Coffee and The Roasterie.

A Fairwave spokesperson told DCN that the company’s goal is to tap into more than 25 markets over the next several years, while “primarily focusing on the Midwest in markets where the specialty coffee industry is typically under-served.”

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The holding company describes itself as a “collective” of distinct specialty coffee brands that maintain their identities while leveraging shared resources.

The Fairwave spokesperson added, “In any new or existing markets, the goal will always be to help existing local brands expand and grow with shared best practices.”

The company declined to disclose the financial terms of the Up Coffee Roasters acquisition.

According to an announcement from Fairwave, Up Coffee Roasters currently supplies roasted coffees, equipment and ingredients to more than 1,000 wholesale clients throughout the Twin Cities region. The company also operates its own Northeast Minneapolis cafe.

“It’s an exciting day for Up Coffee as we join the FairWave Coffee Collective,” Up Coffee Roasters Owner David Chall, who is now an investor in Fairwave, said in Fairwave’s announcement. “For almost three decades, we’ve been providing the Minneapolis area with wholesale artisan fair trade organic coffee, and we know this new partnership will only help us grow and improve our operations.”

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