Dutch Bros trains executives in shop operations as it scales U.S. expansion

Traders Union
All News
Business & Wealth
Billionaires
Dutch Bros executive training for expansion

Highlights

Dutch Bros requires all senior leaders, including CEO Christine Barone, to complete a two-week shop bootcamp and pass an internal 'Flow' test on operations.
The training program has been extended to headquarters teams to ensure that staff designing programs and products understand frontline shop environments.
Dutch Bros reported record $1.64 billion revenue in 2025, up 27.9%, with 1,273 U.S. stores and a goal of 2,029 locations by 2029.

Executive training supports growth model

As first reported by Fortune, Dutch Bros requires senior leaders, including CEO Christine Barone, to complete a two-week bootcamp built around six shifts of hands-on shop training and a final test on drink recipes, operations, company history and culture.

The company says the program is designed to help leaders understand the work of its frontline "broistas," improve hospitality skills and ensure consistency in drink preparation and customer service. Executives who do not pass the internal "Flow" test must retake it.

Barone says staff members openly corrected her mistakes during training, which she describes as evidence of a culture focused on customer experience. She also says the company has extended the training across headquarters teams, including marketing and beverage design staff, so employees shaping programs and products better understand the shop environment.

Culture preservation and expansion priorities

The training reflects Dutch Bros' broader "growth from within" approach, under which store and market leaders begin on the coffee line before moving into larger operating roles. Barone says that structure helps managers understand frontline challenges and build stronger community connections as they take on more locations.

Dutch Bros, the third-largest coffee chain in the U.S. by sales and number of locations after Starbucks and Dunkin', says it now has 1,273 locations across 27 U.S. states and 37,000 systemwide employees. The company reported record revenue of $1.64 billion in 2025, up 27.9% from a year earlier, and is aiming to expand its store count to 2,029 in 2029.

The company started in 1992 as a pushcart coffee business in Grants Pass, Oregon, founded by brothers Travis Boersma and the late Dane Boersma. Barone says a large number of headquarters employees also began as broistas, giving senior staff operational empathy that can help preserve Dutch Bros' service culture as the business scales.

Our earlier report on Ralph Lauren linking executive pay to AI goals highlighted how retailers are starting to tie leadership rewards to measurable progress on new strategic priorities. We noted that Ralph Lauren replaced sustainability targets in its annual bonus plan with AI literacy and enablement metrics, reflecting a broader push to make senior leaders accountable for adoption of new tools and operating practices.

This material may contain third-party opinions, none of the data and information on this webpage constitutes investment advice according to our Disclaimer. While we adhere to strict Editorial Integrity, this post may contain references to products from our partners.