Fire Department Coffee, a Rockford-based company founded in 2016, has rapidly grown from a small business to an internationally recognized brand.
Randy James, the Director of Brand Relations and an active-duty Rockford firefighter, has been with the company for six years. He says the firefighter-led coffee brand has seen exponential growth and continues to expand.
“It’s been exciting to watch this company grow right here in Rockford,” James said.
The journey began at the company’s 3,500-square-foot roastery on Harrison Avenue, where raw coffee beans are processed.
“This is where the green coffee comes in, gets roasted, and then packaged either as ground or whole beans,” James explained.
The roasting process involves adding special flavors before cooling the beans.
“We roast thousands of pounds of coffee daily,” he said. “The beans are roasted at a specific temperature and time, then cooled on a tray to stop the process at just the right moment.”
Once cooled, the beans are packaged as whole or ground coffee and sent to the company’s larger facility on West Riverside, about six and a half miles away.
“This is where much of our product is stored,” James said. “After leaving the roastery, it comes here for distribution.”
Fire Department Coffee now produces about 30 different coffee varieties. The company has grown significantly since its early days, when founder Luke Schneider sold coffee from a 900-square-foot strip mall space and local farmers’ markets.
“We went from that small space to 3,500 square feet on Harrison Avenue,” James said. “Now, we’re in a 35,000-square-foot facility on Riverside. That growth has allowed us to meet demand and serve retail partners nationwide. This year, we expect to be in about 10,000 retail locations across the country.”
The expansion isn’t stopping there. Fire Department Coffee is set to enter the Canadian market through Walmart’s full-chain distribution.
“We’re excited to move into Walmart in Canada,” James said.
Despite its rapid success, James emphasized that Rockford remains at the heart of the company.
“One thing we’re really proud of at Fire Department Coffee is that our roots are in Rockford,” he said. “The company was started by a Rockford firefighter, and we still have many firefighters on staff. No matter how far we expand, this will always be home. The community has supported us, and we’re incredibly grateful.”
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