This Charlotte-area coffee company was just acquired for $355 million

Why? Because they’re the company the makes coffee for restaurants like McDonald’s, Chick-Fil-A, Dunkin’ Donuts, Bojangles’, Krispy Kreme, etc.

S&D is a B2B beverage beast.

As you can imagine, these contracts are huge. Huge enough for a publicly traded beverage giant with $3.3 billion in revenue named Cott Corporation to acquire S&D for $355 million.

“Ron Hinson, S&D’s CEO as well as the rest of S&D’s leadership team, will stay on at Cott and continue to lead the S&D business,” Cott Corporation wrote in a statement.

That’s one heck of an exit. Cheers to the S&D team.

I’ve taken a tour of the S&D Coffee & Tea facility in Concord. It’s like a love child of a NASA and Amazon distribution shop. The facility is gorgeous, enormous, logistically brilliant and filled with smart people.

Beverages (coffee, tea, etc) have become a huge revenue driver for quick serve restaurants and S&D Coffee & Tea has been the beverage platform partner for these restaurants.

It’s kind of odd to think that McDonald’s coffee and Dunkin’ Donuts coffee can be roasted within 50 yards of each other, but that’s what happens.

Given the execution and track record of S&D (and the fact that their headquarters is new and fancy), Cott Corporation is likely to continue to invest in S&D.

Their statement reads, “S&D’s presence in the Concord community will remain unchanged where it houses state-of-the-art facilities and a dedicated employee base. The company anticipates making more investments in infrastructure and the workforce as business growth demands.”

Might be the right time to join this beverage badass – S&D Coffee & Tea currently has 60+ job openings. Here’s a few openings: Tea Blender, National Account Manager, Graphic Designer, Senior Cost Accounting Manager, Food Scientist and Grinder (coffee, not dancing).

(Cover image via Facebook)