Coffee and Careers with Chris Tester
Chris Tester, BIB/10, combined his love for nutrition, coffee and business when he founded Coffee Booster in 2017.
Being an entrepreneur was his calling. Even before taking courses in entrepreneurship at Carleton, he could be found buying and selling baseball cards on eBay and running little businesses in high school.
With an interest in studying business, Chris was drawn to Sprott’s Bachelor of International Business program because of the year abroad and the opportunity to learn a new language. Before starting his year abroad in Chile, Chris and one of his friends took a semester off, bought a car in Toronto and drove through Central America and South America to explore.
“Learning and living in a different language and culture changed my life and perspective on the world,” shared Chris.
Along with these unforgettable experiences, Chris said the network he made during his time at Sprott is one that is still with him today.
In 2011, Chris started a job at Liquid Nutrition, a startup where he worked in marketing and product development. Then he moved to Alberta for a position in regional sales. At this point, Coffee Booster was a project he was working on in his free time. After lots of research, market testing and finalizing some products, Chris successfully secured funding for Coffee Booster and focused on it full time.
Coffee Booster started out with products of flavourless liquid health supplements to put into a daily coffee. Chris said the company has grown to a team of 15 people and they are selling their products across North America. They are projected to be on 10,000 store shelves by next year, and they have their sights set on launching in Europe soon. Coffee Booster is founded on a mission of healthy living made easy with a vision of launching additional boosters not just for coffee in the future.
Starting a business has not come without its challenges. Chris says that surrounding himself with great teachers and mentors has helped him overcome these obstacles.
“In terms of problems along the way, we’ve run into everything you could name. From regulatory problems, to manufacturing delays, to import and export problems,” Chris expressed. “But if you surround yourself with the right people, you can solve anything. You put it in your pool of learnings, and that’s how the business will keep growing.”
Since graduating from Carleton, Chris has stayed involved with the Sprott community. This past year, two Sprott marketing classes used Coffee Booster as a case study, and presented their solutions to Chris and his team. Chris also participated in the Sprott Serves alumni event in April.
Chris’ advice to Sprott students is to follow their interests and passions relentlessly: “Surround yourself with people who are doing what you want to do. Don’t be afraid to take the perceived risk in your route to getting there too. Don’t do what everyone else does—carve your own path.”
Stay in touch with Chris on Instagram, Twitter or at Coffee Booster.