From Bird Food to 15–18 Million Pounds of Coffee a Year | Brad Gutwein, Copper Moon Coffee

On today's show I sat down with Brad Gutwein, co-founder and CEO of Copper Moon Coffee in Lafayette, Indiana.

Brad remembers starting his career after Purdue by joining his family's feed mill business, where he and his brothers grew Morning Song Wild Bird Food from a small regional operation into a major national supplier for retailers like Walmart, Costco, Sam's Club, Target, and others, ultimately selling the company to Scotts Miracle-Gro in 2005.

Inspired by parallels between blending bird seed and coffee, Brad and his brother, Cary, purchased Copper Moon Coffee in 2007 from a Marsh Foods-related entity and shifted it from convenience/office channels toward premium retail branding. After early struggles in a highly competitive category, moving to a new Lafayette facility in 2013 enabled upgraded equipment and K-cup production, helping scale to roughly 15–18 million pounds annually and 150–160 employees, with strong growth via Amazon, club, and grocery channels.

If you like this episode and want to hear more Get IN. episodes where I interview Hoosiers making a difference, visit getindiana.com/podcast.

You are going to learn about:
- The Gutwein Family Feed Mill and Morning Song Wild Bird Food's Growth and Sale to Scotts Miracle-Gro
- The Shift of Copper Moon Coffee to Premium Retail Branding
- How Copper Moon Coffee Scaled to 15–18 Million Pounds Annually

Thank you to our partners:
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Check out these great clips from the show:
00:00 Competitive Coffee Reality
01:11 Guest Introduction: Brad Gutwein, Copper Moon Coffee
02:05 Coffee Roots in Francesville
03:03 From Marriott to Feed Mill
05:26 Morning Song Takes Off
12:01 Landing Big Box Retail
16:42 Calling Walmart in 94
18:50 Selling Morning Song and Coffee Pivot
21:48 Discovering Copper Moon
24:57 Buying a Business Overnight
27:52 First Changes and Retail Push
32:02 Rebrand During the Recession
33:36 Move to Lafayette Turning Point
37:43 How a Commercial Roastery Works
40:03 Retail Expansion Plans
40:52 Top Sales Channels
41:09 Team Growth Moves
41:39 K-Cup Breakthrough
42:50 Scaling Up Production
43:53 Winning Shelf Space
45:40 Indiana Brand Awareness
47:01 Growth Strategy Secrets
49:01 Marketing Demos Ads
50:37 Future Growth Vision
51:09 Product Lineup Tour
53:30 Flavors And Trends
55:14 Regional Brand Acquisition
56:09 Start Versus Buy
58:06 Why Indiana Home
58:41 Rapid Fire Coffee Talk
01:00:28 Foodservice Behind Scenes
01:01:34 Working With Family
01:02:53 Indiana Hidden Gems
01:07:29 Final Wrap And Where To Buy

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