Fiddleheads
Fiddleheads Coffee Roasters is a family-founded specialty coffee company founded in 1996 in Thiensville, Wisconsin, operating eight cafés in the Milwaukee metro and serving roughly one million customers annually through in-café sales, e-commerce, subscriptions, and B2B wholesale.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1996
- HeadquartersThiensville, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Fiddleheads does
Fiddleheads Coffee Roasters is a family-founded specialty coffee company established in 1996 and headquartered in Thiensville, Wisconsin. It operates eight café locations across the greater Milwaukee metropolitan area and serves approximately one million customers annually, with a primary customer base of local individual consumers supplemented by a B2B wholesale program serving SMB coffee shops, restaurants, office buildings, and churches.
The company runs an in-house small-batch roasting operation handling batches of 40 pounds or less, supported by a dedicated cupping and tasting lab, and roasts to order with a 1–2 day turnaround. Its technology stack is built on standard third-party platforms: BigCommerce powers e-commerce, and Incentivio powers the mobile rewards and ordering experience. Coffee is sold at $17.70–$22.30 per 12-ounce bag, with a subscription offering a 20% discount plus $4 flat shipping, gift cards in $25/$50/$100 denominations, and branded merchandise rounding out the assortment.
Fiddleheads generates revenue across four primary channels — direct café sales, e-commerce retail, recurring subscriptions, and a B2B wholesale program — supplemented by gift cards, merchandise, and community partnerships such as the TMJ4 media relationship. In January 2026, the company was acquired by FairWave Specialty Coffee Collective (backed by Great Range Capital), becoming FairWave's twelfth brand and largest acquisition to date, which positions it for further Milwaukee-metro expansion and shared back-office scale.
Fiddleheads firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Fiddleheads
- Legal name
- Fiddleheads Coffee Roasters
- Website
- https://fiddleheadscoffee.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1996
- Operating status
- Acquired
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Fiddleheads Coffee Roasters is a family-founded specialty coffee company founded in 1996 in Thiensville, Wisconsin, operating eight cafés in the Milwaukee metro and serving roughly one million customers annually through in-café sales, e-commerce, subscriptions, and B2B wholesale.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Fiddleheads industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Specialty Coffee Roastery
- NAICS
- Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (311920), Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (31192), Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars (722515)
- SIC
- Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Beverages (2080), Retail-Eating Places (5812)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Coffee Roasters with Cafe (Roastery Cafes) (THAFADAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Specialty Coffee Shops (Single-Origin, Third-Wave) (THAFADAA), Specialty Coffee & Tea Retail (Beans, Leaves, Accessories) (CRAHAGAI)
Keywords
Where Fiddleheads is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Thiensville
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices8 records
Markets served
Fiddleheads business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Direct Café Sales: Revenue from 8 café locations offering coffee beverages, food, and retail merchandise sales to walk-in customers
- E-commerce Retail: Online sales of coffee beans (12oz and 5lb bags), merchandise including drinkware, clothing, and gift cards through fiddleheadscoffee.com
- Coffee Subscription Service: Recurring delivery of freshly roasted coffee with 20% subscriber discount, offering flexible cadences from every 2 weeks to every 6 months, with $4 flat shipping (free over $50)
- Wholesale Program: Supply of coffees to other coffeeshops, churches, office buildings, and restaurants
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Single-origin and blended coffee beans |
| Subscription | Monthly | Coffee subscription with 20% discount |
| One time/ perpetual license | One time/ perpetual license | Physical gift cards |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels5 records
Fiddleheads product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Fiddleheads is a family-founded specialty coffee roaster and café operator that small-batch roasts single-origin, blended, and decaf coffees for sale through 8 company-owned cafés across the Milwaukee metro area, an e-commerce storefront, a recurring coffee subscription, a B2B wholesale program serving coffeeshops, restaurants, offices, and churches, and ancillary retail merchandise including drinkware, clothing, and physical gift cards. The company also operates an artisan bakery serving fresh pastries and food alongside espresso-based beverages in its cafés.
Product overview
Fiddleheads Coffee Roasters is a family-founded specialty coffee company offering a unified product portfolio centered around freshly roasted coffee and cafe beverages. The core offerings include single origin coffees, signature and seasonal blends (such as House Blend, Espresso Blend, Cold Brew Blend, and TMJ4 Morning Blend), and decaf options sourced from farms worldwide. Complementing the coffee business are retail merchandise (drinkware, gift cards, clothing), a subscription service with 20% subscriber discounts, a cafe rewards program, a B2B wholesale program, and a distinctive community art program featuring local artist displays across cafe locations.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Single Origin Coffees Single origin coffee offerings sourced from various countries including Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Papua New Guinea; sold in 12oz and 5lb bags with various grind options via the Fiddleheads e-commerce store and cafés for individual coffee drinkers and home brewing.
- Coffee Blends Signature and seasonal coffee blends including House Blend, Espresso Blend, Breakfast Blend, Cold Brew Blend, Summer Blend, and the TMJ4 Morning Blend, sold in 12oz and 5lb bags with multiple grind options to individual coffee drinkers via café and e-commerce channels.
- Decaf Coffees Decaffeinated coffee options including Decaf Mexico and Decaf Espresso, processed using water processing, sold to individual coffee drinkers who prefer decaf via café and e-commerce channels.
- Coffee Subscription Service Recurring delivery of freshly roasted Fiddleheads coffee at a 20% subscriber discount (vs 10% at other shops), with $4 flat shipping (free over $50), and flexible delivery cadence from every 2 weeks to every 6 months for individual coffee drinkers seeking automated home delivery.
- Fiddleheads Gift Cards Physical gift cards redeemable at all Fiddleheads Café locations (not redeemable on the website), available in $25, $50, and $100 denominations for individual gift purchasers.
- Fiddleheads Merchandise Retail merchandise including drinkware and clothing items (with gift cards managed as a separate product line), sold to individual consumers through Fiddleheads cafés and the online store.
- Wholesale Coffee Program B2B wholesale supply of freshly roasted Fiddleheads coffee to other coffeeshops, churches, office buildings, and restaurants purchasing coffee for resale or on-site service.
Quantifiable outcome
- Serves approximately 1 million customers annually
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Fiddleheads
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Fiddleheads technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Fiddleheads partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- TMJ4minorFiddleheads partnered with TMJ4 (local Milwaukee TV station) to create the TMJ4 Morning Blend coffee. A portion of every bag sold goes directly to a local charity. This community-focused partnership supports local causes while building brand awareness through co-branding.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Fiddleheads competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Anodyne Coffee Roasting Co. Milwaukee specialty coffee roaster with cafés. Direct peer in geography, scale, small-batch roasting approach, and B2B wholesale to local restaurants and offices.
- Colectivo Coffee: Wisconsin-based specialty coffee roaster and café chain. Directly comparable to Fiddleheads as a regional Midwest roaster-café operating in overlapping markets with similar third-wave positioning, multi-location retail, and wholesale programs.
- Stone Creek Coffee: Milwaukee-based specialty coffee roaster and café operator. Direct peer given shared Wisconsin geography, small-batch roasting, café retail footprint, and wholesale accounts in the same regional market.
- Black & White Coffee Roasters: Specialty coffee roaster-café that is also part of the FairWave portfolio (acquired prior to Fiddleheads). Comparable as a sister brand with similar small-batch roasting, café, and wholesale model under the same parent.
- Ceremony Coffee Roasters: Specialty coffee roaster and café operator, also part of the FairWave portfolio. Direct peer in business model (roastery + cafés + wholesale) and as a portfolio company under common ownership.
- Intelligentsia Coffee: Pioneer of third-wave specialty coffee with roastery, cafés, and wholesale. Comparable to Fiddleheads in single-origin sourcing, small-batch roasting, direct trade, and B2B wholesale to high-end accounts.
- Stumptown Coffee Roasters: Specialty coffee roaster with cafés, wholesale, and direct trade. Comparable in product mix (single origins, blends, decaf), café-led retail, and wholesale distribution model.
- Verve Coffee Roasters: Specialty coffee roaster with cafés, e-commerce, and subscription. Comparable in third-wave positioning, small-batch roasting, and direct-to-consumer subscription offering with flexible cadence.
Broad incumbents
- La Colombe Coffee Roasters: Larger specialty coffee roaster with cafés, wholesale, and RTD beverages. Comparable in roastery-plus-café model and wholesale program, but operates at a substantially larger national scale.
- Blue Bottle Coffee: National specialty coffee roaster and café chain (owned by Nestlé). Comparable in small-batch, single-origin positioning and café retail model, but operates at materially larger scale and capital intensity.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Fiddleheads social profiles
Digital presenceFiddleheads financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Fiddleheads leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Fiddleheads funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Fiddleheads M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Fiddleheads
What does Fiddleheads do?
Fiddleheads is a family-founded specialty coffee roaster and café operator that small-batch roasts single-origin, blended, and decaf coffees for sale through 8 company-owned cafés across the Milwaukee metro area, an e-commerce storefront, a recurring coffee subscription, a B2B wholesale program serving coffeeshops, restaurants, offices, and churches, and ancillary retail merchandise including drinkware, clothing, and physical gift cards. The company also operates an artisan bakery serving fresh pastries and food alongside espresso-based beverages in its cafés.
Is Fiddleheads a public or private company?
Fiddleheads is a private company. It is classified as private equity controlled and is currently acquired.
When was Fiddleheads founded?
Fiddleheads was founded in 1996. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Fiddleheads based?
Fiddleheads is headquartered in Thiensville, United States, in the North America region.
How does Fiddleheads make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Direct Café Sales are the primary driver. The others are E-commerce Retail, coffee Subscription Service and wholesale Program.
Who are Fiddleheads's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Anodyne Coffee Roasting Co., Colectivo Coffee, Stone Creek Coffee, Black & White Coffee Roasters, Ceremony Coffee Roasters, Intelligentsia Coffee, Stumptown Coffee Roasters and Verve Coffee Roasters. Broad incumbents are La Colombe Coffee Roasters and Blue Bottle Coffee.
Does Fiddleheads have an API?
No public API is recorded for Fiddleheads.
What industry is Fiddleheads in?
Fiddleheads's product category is Specialty Coffee Roastery. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAFADAE, Coffee Roasters with Cafe (Roastery Cafes), with a secondary code of THAFADAA, Specialty Coffee Shops (Single-Origin, Third-Wave). Its NAICS code is 311920 and its SIC code is 5810.