Google Ventures has invested in a second round of funding for US specialty coffee chain and brand Blue Bottle in a deal worth $25.75m. The round was led by Morgan Stanley Investment Management with participation from Index Ventures and True Ventures. The funding will be used to expand retail operations, improve internal training programmes and improve its quality control department.
Blue Bottle raised in $20m October 2012, bringing its total funding to date to over $45m.
The company’s roll-out success since it was founded in 2012 is tied to a successful brand awareness and customer following of those who prefer slow roasted coffee to the express coffee services of say Starbucks.
Blue Bottle operates five cafes and a mobile farmers market cart in the Bay Area in California. In New York, the company has four locations and one seasonal kiosk on the High Line. It has also signed additional leases in Oakland, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Palo Alto and Los Angeles that will open over the next twelve months.