Robert Downey Jr. is getting into coffee, and he is not doing it with a simple celebrity-branded drink. The actor has teamed up with Craig Dubitsky, the consumer-products entrepreneur behind Eos and Hello, to launch Happy. The timing is notable. The U.S. coffee market is worth about $28 billion, and both large manufacturers and smaller brands are fighting for a bigger share of the daily coffee habit.
Happy is launching with light, medium and dark roasts. Customers can buy them as whole beans or ground coffee, while instant packets and Keurig K-Cups give the company a presence beyond traditional brewing.
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The most revealing part of Happy's launch may be how long it took to get there. Dubitsky said Downey Jr. tasted a large number of coffee blends while the founders worked on the final lineup. The process was demanding enough to delay the launch, which had originally been planned for last year.
That detail says something about how the company wants to position itself. Happy is not trying to compete only through the visibility that comes with Downey Jr.'s name. Dubitsky said the founders wanted the coffee to deliver the qualities people expect from specialty coffee while still being affordable and capable of being produced at scale.
Coffee has become a much bigger playground for new brands
Americans already have plenty of choices. The National Coffee Association says about two-thirds of U.S. adults drink coffee each day, while specialty coffee has become a major part of the market. Younger consumers have also shown interest in different brands, formats and ways of preparing the drink.
That shift has created openings for companies that would have struggled to compete with traditional coffee giants a generation ago. Nestlé has expanded its premium presence through Nespresso and its investment in Blue Bottle. J.M. Smucker, which owns Folgers and Café Bustelo, has been putting more attention on iced coffee products.
Happy is arriving in that crowded space with a fairly broad opening lineup. It is trying to meet consumers where they already are rather than asking them to adopt a completely new coffee habit.
Dubitsky is treating the package and the mission as part of the product
The coffee itself is only part of Happy's pitch. The company is using recyclable cube-shaped containers, a design influenced in part by Dubitsky's earlier work in consumer products. His experience with Eos, including its distinctive lip balm packaging, shaped his belief that the physical package can affect how people experience a product.
Happy is also putting mental-health awareness into the brand. A QR code on each container links consumers to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, which the company identifies as a partner. Dubitsky said the founders want philanthropy built into the business rather than added as a separate marketing effort.
For now, the founders are keeping their focus on coffee. Dubitsky has said they have ideas for other food and beverage products, but he also warned against expanding simply because a company can. That restraint may be important for Happy. Downey Jr. can bring people to the shelf. The coffee, the price and the experience will have to give them a reason to come back.
