UMitch Students Debut New Advertising Model With Ads On Free Coffee Cans – CoffeeTalk

Free Bean Coffee Company, a local startup founded by four University of Michigan students, is aiming to redefine advertising with free coffee cans. The company offers ready-to-drink coffee cans labeled with advertisements in temporary locations across campus, such as the Diag. By selling space on the cans, Free Bean provides companies with a distinctive way to reach customers while offering free coffee to those passing by. The company launched in Dec. 2024, initially targeting the local Ann Arbor community before seeking broader expansion.

The founding goal of Free Bean was to confront the rising prices of coffee and lack of opportunities for local businesses to advertise to college students. They wanted to find a cheaper alternative for consumers, especially with everything going on right now and people’s low willingness to pay. They realized that there was little to no advertising on university campuses (for local businesses).

Brett Korsunsky, Business senior and chief operating officer of Free Bean, told The Daily that there were challenges to implementing their model with no example to go off of. Through different research and connecting with people who had either worked in the advertising space or the coffee production space, they tried to combine all the accumulated knowledge from either side to build out their business model.

Jett Zimmerman, LSA senior and chief product officer of Free Bean, told The Daily the University played an important role in supporting the team’s growth and tackling challenges

Local business Cinnaholic saw promise in Free Bean’s model, partnering with the company during its launch. Owner Doug Moeller saw an advertising opportunity in the company’s distribution strategy and reflected on his decision to work with the startup.

Following the success of Free Bean, the founders have set their sights on expanding beyond college campuses to office settings, specifically co-working spaces. They are currently in discussion with several co-working spaces in the Metro Detroit area and intend to start supplying coffee on a regular basis in the next two to three weeks.

Read More @ Michigan Daily