New cold brewed coffee beverage delivers a swift kick

Prospectors Cold Brew, a coffee beverage, is one of Grand Rapids' latest entrepreneurial ventures to be hatched from the Downtown Market's incubator kitchen, and its tagline promises it will deliver its customers "a swift kick."

Dave Wentworth and Eric Pearson are the co-founders of the business that began in a home kitchen in January 2014 and was licensed in the incubator kitchen in July. The duo and their production team grind, cold brew and bottle their coffee drink into four varieties - concentrate, original, extra-strength and almond milk.

The inspiration for the new business partially came from Wentworth's search for a better alternative to coffee and energy drinks. "I am a Type 1 diabetic and I know there were no healthy coffee drinks," he says. "Most have high sugar, and I found iced coffees to be bitter with no flavor." Wentworth says he was sent a cold brewed coffee from a company in southern in California and he "fell in love" with the drink.

Pearson says his interest in the cold brewed beverage industry was more of a business opportunity than a lifestyle choice. "I thought it was cool product. There were no preservatives or garbage that many energy drinks have," he says. Pearson also says he felt the time was right for an interesting product and a consumer shift towards healthier eating trends: "There wasn't much of a market presence in West Michigan and I thought it could be a business opportunity."

The branding choice for their company is focused on the purity and simplicity of their product's ingredients, which they was embodied by the prospectors, who chose a simple lifestyle in their quest to mine for pure gold. "Our concentrate is pure and clean and there is no bitterness like heat extracted products," says Pearson. He says their process includes using mint, which he says gives their beverage a "Turkish vibe."

You can find Prospectors Cold Brew in ten locations, including Martha's Vineyard, a very early adopter of the beverage, and you can also order online.

For the full story about Prospectors Cold Brew, including ordering and product information, visit their website here or their Facebook page here.

Writer: John Rumery, Innovation and Jobs News Editor