When walking down the coffee aisle at Meijer, a supermarket chain, customers may see the green bags of Bent Tree whole bean coffee among the orange Dunkin’ and brown McCafé bags.

Ryan Brannon, co-founder of Bent Tree Coffee Roasters, said the company’s six blends of coffee: Black Squirrel Decaf, Espresso Blend, Black Squirrel Blend, Breakfast blend, Honduras and Guatemala became available at Meijer on July 7.

“We went up to the Stow Meijer and it looked like they sold out of a couple of our offerings, so that was pretty exciting,” he said.

Bent Tree Coffee was already working with grocery chains like Heinen’s and Meijer’s Fairfax Market when they were approached by Meijer with the offer to work with them, Brannon said.

“At the time, we had not expanded to our new facility and had not expanded to our new roaster,” he said. “So, we [kind of listened] to what they had to say and said, ‘let’s talk in a little while.’’’

In 2023, Bent Tree Coffee moved into their new wholesale facility, found on N. Mantua St., which gave them enough space to purchase a larger roaster, Brannon said.

“We went from being able to do just about 20 pounds per batch to about 60 pounds per batch, which is still a small batch,” he said.

Before their coffee was available in Meijer, the company was providing coffee to about 60 other grocery stores, Brannon said.

“That shows you too, that by picking up 55 [Meijer stores]  … it’s a pretty huge addition to what we’re currently doing,” he said.

Corrina Colyer, the wholesale manager of Bent Tree Coffee, said the improvements prepared them to work with Meijer’s distributor, as it was their first time working with a grocery chain’s distributor.

“We definitely are able to store more palettes … we’re able to buy things in bulk, like, I now get shipping boxes in bulk so I’ll buy boxes by the palette,” she said. “We just have more space and with that you’re able to create more and expand more.”

After expanding to a new facility, Brannon said he contacted Meijer to see if they would still be interested in working with the company.

“[Meijer was] going to a reset of their entire coffee section and it was going to happen on July 7,” he said. “We applied to be part of that coffee reset and they accepted us.”

From the Meijer’s partnership, Brannon said he is most excited about the grocery chain’s reach.

“They’re all over Ohio plus they’re Michigan based, so it gives us a chance to get into some new market with Michigan and Kentucky,” he said.

Brannon said he is excited for people to try Bent Tree’s Honduras coffee and their Breakfast Blend of coffee.

“[The Breakfast Blend has] been a great crowd pleaser for years … if somebody’s like, ‘I don’t know what to get,’ we’re like ‘Breakfast Blend,’” he said.

Colyer said she is excited for consumers to try the Breakfast Blend and the Black Squirrel Decaf blend.

“There’s typically a limited sectional for decaf drinkers out there, so it gives them a chance to try something new,” she said. 

Besides their coffee being found at Meijer, Colyer said people can also find their favorite Bent Tree Coffee products on the company’s Amazon Storefront.

“It’s exciting because a lot of feedback we got from customers about launching on Amazon is that they’re excited to get the Black Squirrel.” she said. “If they’ve moved out of the state, it reminds them of home.”

With the storefront and Meijer’s expansion, Colyer said she is excited for people to have the experience of going to Bent Tree Coffee while remaining in their homes.

“I would hope with our coffee in Indiana, Kentucky or Michigan they are able to experience that as well, and maybe they’ll learn something about Kent, Ohio,” she said.

Adriana Gasiweski is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].