From Corner Store to Country Wide

Philz Coffee

The Challenge

With a loyal customer base and incredibly happy employees, Philz Coffee was on the cusp scaling, facing projected 10x growth over the coming three years.  Philz came to Cunningham Collective for help cementing its culture, enhancing and maintaining the customer experience, and refining its position and brand to prepare for this scale.

The AHa!

After working with Philz CEO, Jacob Jaber, to identify how to support rapid growth while maintaining Philz' unique culture as it brings to market a “third wave coffee movement," we identified ways to ground the mission, positioning, values, and credo in something tangible and memorable. 

Cunningham Collective refined Philz’ positioning and messaging and codified the brand voice to ensure consistent internal and external messaging. We defined the official culture collateral to be used during training as well as day-to-day operations. And to align the strategy with the culture and customer experience, we designed a simple but effective in-store display that connects baristas more closely with customers.

the Results

Today, Philz is realizing its vision. Cunningham Collective's culture collateral and in-store "Meet the Team" display boards were rolled out store-wide in 2014. Since, Philz has doubled its number of storefronts and has expanded to both Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. It recently raised an additional $45 million in Series C financing to support is ambitious growth goals. Among a sea of competitors, Philz has developed a unique voice and experience that has made it one of the most distinguishable and respected brands in the Bay Area and beyond.