All-Pro Los Angeles Rams wide receiver is getting into the coffee game. According to Eric Jackson of Sportico, Kupp has launched a new brew brand, Dodo Coffee.
Kupp is looking to re-think how coffee is brewed, and to tone down the heavily flavored options offered up by corporate coffee companies.
“You’re starting your day with so many chemicals,” Kupp said. “So many things that are not good, and most guys aren’t getting a black coffee. Most of them are getting stuff with syrups and things that are terrible for you. … For how we should be treating our bodies as athletes, to start your day like that is just killer.”
Last week, the brand kicked off a national launch. The ownership group is all kept pretty in-house. Jackson reports that Kupp owns a portion of Dodo Coffee along with his wife Anna, Anna’s sister, Sarah Ojeda, her husband, Isaiah, and Sarah and Anna’s parents, Nathan and Veronica Croskrey.
“The competitive nature of business is a new thing to me, but it’s been a lot of fun,” Kupp added.
Anna’s family launched its first physical location of the brand in Fayetteville, Arkansas, where her family is based. The team plans to open up more brick-and-mortar locales over time, but Kupp wants to maintain brand control and keep tabs on workplace quality. Kupp is making a point to give back to local economies and to make sure to pay top dollar to brokers and importers.
“One of the most important things in starting a business is that it aligns with who you are and the passions that you have,” Kupp said. “We don’t align with the McDonald’s and Starbucks of the world … We want to do things that are intentional and that are lifting people up.”
“There are a lot of [workers] that are being exploited,” he said of the coffee industry. “It’s these big companies that are all about mass production and getting the most they possibly can get by paying the very least. It’s a tough thing, because that program will always end in exploitation.”
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