A student-run business venture created as part of a Marquette University applied learning program will partner with a longtime Milwaukee coffee roaster to develop a product for release this fall.
Blue and Gold Brewing LLC will work with Stone Creek Coffee — a local craft coffee roaster for more than 30 years — to develop a Marquette-affiliated coffee product to be released in fall 2023.
The collaborative project, which will include coffee blend selection, branding and marketing, sales, and distribution, should be launched just before the winter holiday season.
Blue and Gold Brewing — named for school colors — is part of the applied learning program within Marquette University’s College of Business Administration.
“Marquette is excited to not only expand its student-run business venture portfolio but to partner with an industry-leading and mission-aligned organization in Stone Creek Coffee,” said John Knapp, Executive Director of Innovation Alley, Marquette’s cross-campus innovation accelerator. “Stone Creek is a Certified B-Corporation, which signifies its values and ethical leadership, which align with the mission of Marquette Business. We look forward to this collaboration.”
In a first-of-its-kind pilot program, Blue and Gold Brewing launched with plans for a four-person team of undergraduate leaders to oversee production each year. The students are involved in every aspect of the business: leading market research, product selection and naming, supply chain and logistics, finance, graphic design, advertising, marketing, distribution, and entrepreneurial/start-up processes.
Blue and Gold Brewing LLC was formed in 2022 and partnered with three Milwaukee-area craft breweries to release ’77 Golden Ale on Feb. 4, National Marquette Day. For ’77 Golden Ale, the participating breweries brewed the beer and handled all operational aspects of the collaboration, including legal and regulatory compliance matters.
Blue and Gold Ventures is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that amplifies and accelerates innovation and engagement to extend Marquette’s mission beyond traditional university boundaries. Blue and Gold Ventures is driven to deliver sustainable value for the university by embracing new and collaborative methods of teaching, learning, research and service.
