Stellar Brew, Java Love organic coffees by Allegro sold to San Francisco firm

BOULDER — Allegro Coffee Co. has sold its organic arm, The Organic Coffee Co., to a northern California coffee company.

Terms of the sale to JBR Gourmet Foods Inc. in San Leandro, Calif., were not disclosed. Allegro basically sold the branding, packaging and marketing of its organic coffee business, said Tara Cross, Allegro marketing manager. Organic’s distribution network includes about 800 grocery stores, many in southern California. Allegro is owned by Whole Foods Market, the largest natural foods grocery story chain in the country.

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“Massive consolidation” in the natural foods industry caused Allegro to rethink its strategy after buying Organic Coffee a year and a half ago, Cross said. The organic coffee line made up about 5 percent of Allegro’s total sales.

“We were proud of what we were able to do, but mainstream grocery takes a lot of marketing, so we’ve decided to refocus on the Allegro brands, core business: coffee houses, high-end resort business and specialty natural foods stores,” Cross said.

The sale is not expected to affect any of Allegro’s 70 employees.

JBR gets rights to the coffee blend recipes marketed by Organic Coffee, including such brews as Stellar Brew, Zen Blend and Java Love. Other JBR company labels include San Francisco Bay Gourmet Coffee, Cunningham’s Coffee and East India Coffee and Tea. JBR also buys rights to Organic’s customer/distribution base.

“It’s a fun brand,” Cross said.

Allegro posted revenues of about $15 million last year. Privately held JBR produces more than 50,000 pounds of coffee per day.