KANSAS CITY, Mo., U.S. — The owners of Kansas City’s two leading coffee brands, The Roasterie and Messenger Coffee Company, have joined forces to create FairWave Holdings, a specialty coffee collective. The new holding company will build upon the success of both local brands’ excellent coffee and customer experience, and shared mission to respect every hand in the journey from grower to consumer.
The Roasterie and Messenger Coffee Company brands, and their respective locations in the Kansas City area, are not changing, but instead moving into a new season of growth as local businesses.
“Creating this collective is our way to continue to grow and promote local coffee, while keeping our brand and cafes feeling just as they always have been,” Danny O’Neill, founder and CEO of The Roasterie said. “FairWave will build upon our strengths as businesses, give us the platforms to share best practices, and allow both The Roasterie and Messenger to thrive as individual brands and to continue being connected with our customers right here in our KC community, which we’ve been ingrained in for over 27 years.”
The catalyst for launching FairWave was born from the shared passion both brands have for memorable customer and coffee experiences. While The Roasterie and Messenger Coffee Company are iconic on their own, and will continue on as their respective brands, both are looking forward to the opportunities to grow together. This new partnership will enable the individual brands to thrive while sharing best practices to accelerate innovation, and support and elevate the beloved local coffee industry. The holding company’s full portfolio will also include Kansas City’s Blackdog Coffeehouse, Filling Station Cafes and IBIS Bakery, which are nestled within the Messenger Coffee Company brand.
“Messenger Coffee, and our portfolio of cafes and artisan bakeries, has always had relentless focus and drive between our family, employees and partners to consistently bring exceptional, unique and creative beverage and food experiences that delight our customers with every visit,” said Ron Matsch, a Partner of Messenger Coffee Company. “Messenger and The Roasterie are known for our customer experiences, our commitment to our teams, and overall supply chain transparencies. As we designed FairWave, it was paramount for us to ensure that the company will always protect these individual identities and what has made our brands special to the community for years.”
O’Neill along with the Matsch Family and partners will continue to remain involved as investors of FairWave, with Danny O’Neill and Ron Matsch serving as stakeholders on the new company’s Board of Directors. For overarching leadership, FairWave is proud to appoint Kansas City local, Dan Trott, as the Chief Executive Officer. Trott brings over 30 years of experience leading businesses in the Food & Beverage industry, including nearly 14 years with PepsiCo. Most recently, Trott served as CEO for Pegasus Foods Inc. and prior served as Chief Operations Officer for Russell Stover. Fairwave is looking forward to seeing the collective portfolio grow over the years, with future sights set on aligning with other specialty, local coffee brands in the Midwest and beyond. FairWave is backed by Great Range Capital, a local private equity firm based in Kansas City.
“We are excited for the opportunity to strengthen both of the brands as we come together and continue building the presence and availability of The Roasterie and the Messenger brand family,” Trott said. “There is so much more potential as we join forces, celebrate our wins together, innovate side-by-side, and continue to create a coffee culture and industry Kansas City will be proud of for decades to come.”
