Minnesota-Based Folly and Philtera Join FairWave Coffee Group

Kansas City, Missouri-based FairWave Holdings has made undisclosed investments in two Minnesota-born coffee companies, Folly Coffee and Philtera Cold Brewed Coffees.

FairWave, which launched in 2020 with ownership stakes in Kansas City-based The Roasterie and Messenger Coffee, describes itself as a “collective” of specialty coffee brands that maintain their identities and local focuses while leveraging shared resources.

The deals with Folly and Philtera come approximately nine months after FairWave invested in Minneapolis-based Up Coffee Roasters, and nearly two years after the firm’s acquisition of fellow Minneapolis roaster/retailer Spyhouse Coffee.

2018 courtesy photo from Folly Coffee.

“As our presence grows in Minneapolis and into additional new markets, we continue to be driven by the same purpose: to preserve and elevate local specialty coffee brands through best practices, innovation and authentic coffee experiences,” FairWave Co-Founder Dan Trott said in an announcement of the Folly and Philtera deal.

Folly Coffee was founded as an independent craft roasting company by Ken Schweikert and Rob Bathe in 2018 prior to opening a larger roastery and beverage production plant in the Minneapolis suburb of St. Louis Park in 2020.

Folly’s Bathe is also a co-founder and owner of Philtera Cold Brewed Coffees, which was launched in late 2018 and provides cold brewing services for kegged and bag-in-box cold brew applications.

2019 courtesy photo from Philtera Cold Brewed Coffees.

As part of the new deal, Bathe is joining FairWave as vice president of sales and business development for FairWave’s Minnesota branch. Additionally, current Folly Head Roaster Jeff Mooney has been named director of coffee for FairWave Minnesota.

“By partnering with FairWave, we will have access to incredible green coffee globally, increased capabilities, a shared system of best practices across like-minded local coffee brands, and back-of-house business support,” Bathe said in the FairWave announcement. “It’s an exciting new chapter that I’m pumped to begin.”

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