Chameleon Cold-Brew is an American coffee company based in Austin, Texas. It is known for its cold brew coffee and is credited as the first fair trade and organic cold brew company in the United States. In 2014, Chameleon Cold-Brew was given the Best Coffee award by BevNET.Chameleon Cold-Brew was founded in 2010 by Steve Williams and Chris Campbell.[2] Williams, a longtime coffee industry professional and coffee shop owner, created a unique blend of cold brew coffee to sell exclusively at his east Austin coffeehouse, Bennu Coffee. Campbell, who holds an MBA from Rice University, was working as a business consultant when he and Williams met at a neighborhood barbecue. The pair decided to join forces, utilizing Campbell's entrepreneurial ambitions and Williams’ coffee expertise, to bottle and sell a cold brew brand based on the original recipe served at Bennu Coffee.[3] The pair teamed with Austin coffee icon and master roaster, R.C. Beall, to perfect the cold brew blend using beans from Beall's coffee sourcing company, Texas Coffee Traders.[4] After months of experimenting with various brewing methods, beans and water sources, the recipe was finalized and Chameleon Cold-Brew debuted its first products in the Austin market in 2011 at a south Austin convenient store, The Whip In.[5] The original cold brew recipe is still freshly brewed and served at Bennu Coffee's two Austin locations.Chameleon Cold-Brew was able to gain traction in the marketplace by cutting deals with local vendors such as Texafrance who bottled the product for the company.[6] By 2012, the company had its products in 225 stores in 18 states.[6] The company received outside funding in 2013 by selling a minority stake in the company to Fortitude Capital LLC.[7] Funding was used for product distribution, marketing, and infrastructure.[7] [Wikipedia]
