What moved (Sep '25 – Aug '26)
| Metric | Sep 2025 → Aug 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Awareness | 38% → 46% | +8pp |
| Consideration | 26% → 32% | +6pp |
| Claimed Usage | 18% → 22% | +4pp |
| Preference | 6% → 8% | +2pp |
What's behind the growth
Dutch Bros' brand-building rests on three pillars: paid media, community giving and physical reach.
It's been accelerating paid advertising to broaden awareness, layered on a philosophy Chief Marketing Officer Tana Davila traces back to the brand's founder: "we're not in the beverage business, we're in the relationship business, and the product is love".
It's tied that advertising to college sports too, partnering with athletes on March 2026's Kindness Campaign and September 2026's Gameday Energy. Everyday. campaign.
Community giving follows a similar pattern: the 19th annual Drink One for Dane raised $1.7 million for ALS research in May 2026, pushing lifetime donations past $20 million, while February 2026's Dutch Luv Day of Giving added a further $1.1 million for local food organisations, and the 20th annual Buck for Kids Day kept the same giving model going for local youth causes in September 2026.
Meanwhile, the shop count kept climbing: 1,136 stores across 25 states by the end of 2025, plus first-ever Los Angeles and Chicagoland locations in November 2025 and May 2026.
Its at-home coffee range also landed in Amazon, Walmart, H.E.B. and Albertsons in February 2026. Even its organic reach is growing fast: creator-marketing firm CreatorIQ found Dutch Bros-related TikTok and Instagram posts grew 22-fold between 2020 and 2025, with earned media value up 48-fold.
