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His watchword is strength

By: Maria Cardinal - Freelance franchise contributor to RedHotFranchises.com

 

Closing a career as a police detective in 2000, Brad Carpenter entered the coffee business – first with a brand called Cutter’s Point, then at Forza Coffee Co.

The Gig Harbor company he founded operates 15 outlets, both company-owned and franchised. All growth has been in the South Sound area – from Tumwater to Auburn, from Bonney Lake to Gig Harbor, with Tacoma, University Place and Lakewood in between – and Carpenter has plans to expand to other states.

Offering a personal touch, he’s the architect of his stores. He designed the bar and the racks that hold the syrups, and the color scheme also is his.

His latest initiative is “sustainable” coffee, which gives Forza a direct relationship with the grower.

You’re about to open your 16th store. Are you running close to your original growth plan?

We thought, in our wildest dreams, to have three to five shops. Now we have 48 in some form of development, with the bulk in Western Washington. (Others are in) Spokane and Denver.

You own a handful of stores, and you also franchise.

We train and do the business model. For financing, we steer them towards the banks.

What’s the going rate for a franchise?

It’s $25,000 flat, and a 4 percent royalty (on sales). It takes about $200,000 to $225,000 (to open) a store.

How has it been moving from the public sector – teaching and police work – into being an entrepreneur?

It’s been a great ride. It’s just coffee. It’s not pediatric health care or world peace. It’s a blast.

What’s your recipe for success?

It’s finding and hiring the right people, and they’ll attract the right people. We hire for attitude, and we train for skill. A lot of companies do it the opposite way.

How do you find people who fit the company?

We’re looking for integrity and values, and outgoing and friendly people.

You mentioned values.

My father was in the military for 36 years, and he and his friends have paid back. My mother volunteered for Mary Bridge for over 25 years. It’s a sense of payback. The older you get, you appreciate what your parents do. Being a beat cop in Oakland, I saw a lack of community.

Forza – whence the name?

It’s Italian for “strength.” It’s inner strength, perseverance. We want to be the strength of the community, and we define community by strong churches and schools.

How much of the credit for the industry goes to Starbucks?

Starbucks is the model. They’ve paved the way. Everybody in the Northwest knows what a latte mocha Frappuccino is.

If you go into a market with no Starbucks, all you’re going to sell is drip coffee. They’ve got a great marketing research team.

But there are things we can do better. We offer true barista art. Some Starbucks baristas, the artists, have come over to us.

And you’re going beyond “fair trade” to “sustainable” coffee. What is it?

It’s trying to get a direct relationship with the farmer. We have seen the problem with fair trade. There is no trace of where the money is going – to make sure the farmers get their fair share.

Our roaster (Dillanos, of Sumner) has developed relationships with farmers. We are doing five-year commitments to buy their coffee. We are paying a little more. We’re doing it one farm at a time. For us, it gives us a direct trace for the money. Fair trade got the conversation going.

Is there more to the relationship?

Our staff will go to the farms. As soon as we put this out at our managers meeting, everybody wanted to go. They’d Googled the prices on Expedia.

We’re going to make several trips. The employees will spend a half-day working in the fields, and we’ll look to see what we can do down there. What can we bring? Can we help with school supplies? Irrigation projects?

Have you been approached by private equity or other coffee companies wanting to acquire Forza?

Daily. They’d like to have our company and our locations. We just process the information.

What’s your goal?

It keeps changing. Three to five shops have changed to 45 to 50. What I’ve learned is that you enjoy it more if you see others become successful. I think that’s the most powerful tool you can have.

We want to roll out nationally.

We want to travel and get a free cup of coffee every half-hour.

Brad Carpenter

Title: President, CEO and founder of Forza Coffee Co.

Family: Married to Cindy; two grown children

Education: San Francisco State

Previous career: Began as teacher and coach. Worked as police officer and detective in Oakland, Calif., and Gig Harbor – “everything from keys locked inside a car to homicide.”

His daily grind: Two cups of drip in the morning, an Americano and straight shots as the day progresses, chai tea, ends the day with a caramel macchiato, then later a cup of Kenyan and a few sticks of biscotti.

Point of pride: Barista artistry. Employee Shiloh Sanders has won international recognition.

A memorable customer order: Iced triple-Cuban crema breve mocha, with whip