PORTLAND, Ore., U.S. — Nitro cold brew coffee has continued to see steady growth over the past couple years. In fact, the latest findings from National Coffee Association’s annual report showed that 12% of coffee drinkers had purchased cold brew within the past week: with that kind of demand, GrowlerWerks expected there to be a lot of interest in their uKeg Nitro—the first integrated at-home nitro cold brew coffee maker and dispenser.
Blowing past their Kickstarter funding goal in the first ninety minutes, however, was a pleasant surprise.
Launched in mid-July, the uKeg Nitro campaign got off to a fast start and closed with pledges from 3,899 backers, totaling more than $640,000. To the delight of its supporters, the campaign unlocked two stretch goals during its 6-week run, ultimately hitting 858% of its funding goal.
GrowlerWerks President and Co-Founder, Shawn Huff, is thrilled to be taking the next step. “We are really impressed with the initial uKeg Nitro prototypes. Now that the Kickstarter campaign has closed, we are beginning production and will be delivering the product on-schedule, thanks to our backers who are bringing our vision to life.”
A large part of the appeal of the uKeg Nitro is that it allows consumers to make and serve creamy, nitro-infused cold brew coffee from the comfort of their own home, and for a fraction of the cost. While convenience and affordability are part of the equation, the uKeg Nitro’s success hinges on its ability to deliver top-notch cold brew. GrowlerWerks Co-Founder and Product Manager, Evan Rege, is confident they have the quality aspect nailed. “We’ve talked to coffee experts from Stumptown, Good, Caffè Umbria and Intelligentsia and they all agree—the uKeg Nitro is ‘coffee legit.’ We know the product we are bringing to market will deliver the nitro cold brew experience that consumers are accustomed to enjoying from the high-end systems found in coffeeshops.”
Kickstarter rewards will begin shipping in October of this year. Coffee connoisseurs who missed out on this initial crowdfunding opportunity can still pre-order a uKeg Nitro on Indiegogo and lock in low prices on individual units and multi-packs in time for the holiday season.
