Seattle Strong CEO and cofounder Even Oeflein: “We kind of crafted the coffee we wanted to drink.”
For most college students, a class project is just a box to check before graduation. For Evan Oeflein, it became a career.
Today, Oeflein is CEO of Seattle Strong, a cold-brew coffee company found in independent and major grocery chains across multiple states. Seattle Strong also operates a robust coffee service on tech and corporate campuses.
Oeflein and two classmates, all juniors, originally aimed to develop warming and cooling sunscreens in their “Create a Company” class at the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business. A mishap with cinnamon oil, however, forced a sudden pivot.
Recognizing that cold brew coffee was rapidly surging in popularity, the young entrepreneurs turned their attention to coffee instead.
“We came at cold brew like consumers and students rather than coffee people,” he recalls. “To be honest, we got lucky.”
The trio consulted with local roasters on flavor profiles and, after receiving an “A” in the class, ran the business as a side hustle during their senior year. They plowed their $40,000 profit back into the company and went at it full-time after graduation.
When Covid hit, the company lost 95% of its core office and food service revenue overnight. Now operating as a solo founder, Oeflein had to rebuild from scratch. Survival came down to a timely pre-pandemic pivot into local grocery stores.
Today, the brand is in regional powerhouses including Whole Foods, Safeway, Metropolitan Market and Fred Meyer. Seattle Strong can also be found in California and Texas.
Scaling organically without outside investors hasn’t been the only hurdle. The company recently navigated a trademark dispute with the Space Needle over its logo, leading to an amicable rebrand. Almost immediately afterwards, food conglomerate Nestlè — which acquired Seattle’s Best Coffee in 2022 — challenged the Seattle Strong name.
Despite facing a $113 billion giant, Oeflein is standing his ground.
We’ve been adamant we’re not going to change the name,” he says. “You can’t own the word ‘Seattle.’”
Summer is the peak season for iced beverages, and Oeflein is focused on putting Seattle Strong’s signature smooth, low-acid liquid “everywhere cold brew can go.”
“We’re always trying to grow everywhere we can,” he says. “At the end of the day, we just want to be a good cold brew coffee brand.”