Roaster Marea Coffee’s Novel “Dynamic-Positive” Approach in San DiegoThe Daily Coffee News in Roast Magazine

Under the leadership of a team of entrepreneurs and in collaboration with several renowned surfers, skaters and other outdoor athletes, a novel brand was created called Marea Coffee landed in San Diego last winter.

According to co-founder Greyson Adams, the company aims to become the go-to destination for those who live an “dynamic and positive” lifestyle, leveraging partnerships with professional athletes whose adventurous, outdoor pursuits allow them to do what they love in stunning, exotic locations around the world.

Though Marea means “high tide” in Spanish, and Adams and his partners grew up in the Southern California surfing scene, the company has a broader cultural vision for the brand.

“Our ultimate goal wasn’t to be seen as just a surf-oriented brand,” Adams told Daily Coffee News, noting that the company’s name also references Las Mareas, an architectural design project created by his father, who died about five years ago. “We’re from San Diego, a lot of us were born and raised on the beach and grew up surfing, but we wanted to build a brand that was everything — surfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, even golf.”

Rob Machado, Danny Way and Alphonso Rawls

Marea coffees are roasted by Chief Product Officer Joe Bettinger, who also serves in business development for a San Diego-based green coffee importer Global Coffee Trade.

Bettinger roasts coffee on a 15-kilogram Loring machine in a 600-square-foot facility in San Diego, profiling Marea’s offerings while working with each athlete to design and craft a unique blend that reflects their personal tastes, often using beans grown in regions of special significance to each globetrotter.

The idea for a specialty coffee company inspired by extreme sports was born in Adams’ mind in 2016. As president of the company, he joins Bettinger, Greg Moser (CTO), Reyjay Solares (web design and marketing) and Loren Laguens (business development), whose experience in brand management has put him in touch with many renowned athletes.

Marea Coffee Director Joe Bettinger.

Marea Coffee’s stable of action sports heroes now includes snowboarder Kimmy Fasani, backcountry skier Chris Benchetler, skateboarder Danny Way, skateboarder/artist Alphonzo Rawls, surfer Rob Machado, surf filmmaker Taylor Steele and surf photographer Todd Glaser. Laguens has been at the forefront of connecting with these athletes, who not only embody the brand’s culture and contribute to its products, but also lend a hand generate retail and wholesale leads.

For example, Rob Machado brought Marea Coffee to the shelves of his local grocery store, Seaside Market, and landed Hurley International as an office account. Todd Glaser helped Marea become the official coffee Kelly Slater Wave Companymanufacturer of artificial waves for surfing sports training, events and competitions.

Although the athletes are passionate about coffee, they are content to lend a hand and enthusiastically collaborate with Bettinger in creating their own blends, and they also receive a financial incentive of 1 percent of the company’s shares just for being associated and being an ambassador.

“They have that 1 percent, which seems like nothing,” Laguens said, “but when you look at a company like Blue Bottle, which was sold to Nestle for $700 million, one point of that is a pretty massive amount of money.”

Laguens said the company is looking to connect with ambassadors representing other outdoor sports, potentially including a golfer and a fisherman.

“The arenas where these guys live their lives are some of the most stunning in the world,” Laguens said. “A bass fisherman, early in the morning on a lake, the lake is steaming up a little bit, it’s all glass, you’ve got the mountains in the background, and you’re on this awesome boat. Same thing with a golf course, the ocean, the mountains. I don’t see that as much with football players and baseball players, who are in the same arena over and over again. The whole action sports thing just gives it a more earthy tone.”

Adams said the company has grown dramatically since its launch in February and will continue to focus on building brand recognition through online sales, offices, restaurants and resorts nationwide. Adams said: “As far as the coffee shop, it’s on the radar, but it’s a different business model.”