Heather Perry, chief executive of Klatch Coffee, was studying to take the LSAT when she competed in the U.S. Barista Championship in Boston in 2003 — and became the first woman to win first place.
Perry said she and her father, Mike, who opened the first Klatch Coffee shop with his wife, Cindy, in 1993, had competed for the first time the previous year in Long Beach and did “horrible.”
“My family is incredibly competitive,” Perry told the Business Journal. “Between January and August that year, I think there were two weekends I did not practice in our lab.”
After winning the championship at the age
After winning the championship at the age of 23, she returned in 2007 and won a second time. Later that same year, she also competed in the World Barista Championship in Tokyo and placed second with an award-winning espresso blend that is still served at Klatch cafés today.
Perry’s experience comes from growing up and working at her family’s specialty coffee shop with her sister, Holly. She has witnessed the brand’s expansion firsthand since her father decided to open Klatch as a side project more than 30 years ago.
Mike Perry co-owned a steel manufacturing business but sold his stake to return to school. To pay for classes and support their family, he and Cindy Perry opened Klatch Coffee in Rancho Cucamonga.
At the time, the venture was meant to be temporary.
I had never had any plans to stay
“I had never had any plans to stay in the business, and neither did my parents,” Perry said.
She was preparing to start applying to law schools when she became the U.S. Barista Champion in 2003. However, Perry kept working at Klatch in different roles and then became chief executive in 2021.
“It was definitely an evolution, and I just did it without realizing it,” she said.
When Perry stepped into the top role,
When Perry stepped into the top role, the company had seven locations. It’s now on track to have 32 stores open by the end of this year, with 300 employees.
She added that the championship was a way to succeed on her own outside the family business. The competition led her to volunteer for 12 years at the Specialty Coffee Association, training professionals, helping shape global industry standards and uniting the U.S. and European chapters as president.
“Being able to build my own reputation was incredibly important,” Perry said. “You’ve got to be able to find your own successes along the way.”
Perry was an honoree at the Business Journal’s
Perry was an honoree at the Business Journal’s Women in Business Awards at the Irvine Marriott on Sept. 17.
“We’ve been slow and intentional about our growth, knowing that for us maintaining control, capitalizing our money, not getting into debt — those have been the things that have led us,” Perry said.
In 1998, Klatch launched its e-commerce site when the family decided to start roasting their own coffee. They began distributing the homemade batches to nearby shops while also stocking their own stores. Online sales drove business for a long time and “blew up” during the pandemic. The company also began working with farm partners in the Bahamas, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.
Just before Perry became CEO in 2021, Klatch
Just before Perry became CEO in 2021, Klatch opened its first nontraditional location at LAX, operated by a franchisee.
In 2023, Sprouts Farmers Market approached Klatch about opening cafés in its stores. After testing five, Perry agreed to 20 more. Fifteen have now opened, including locations in Huntington Beach, Laguna Niguel, Lake Forest and San Clemente. Five more Sprouts locations are slated to open by the end of the year.
“This second expansion with Sprouts has brought us down to Orange County and San Diego,” Perry said, “which is amazing to be able to just grow our customer base down there.”
Klatch Coffee now counts 27 locations
Klatch Coffee now counts 27 locations as of September and will have 32 by year’s end. Nowadays, wholesale and retail make up most of the revenue.
“E-commerce definitely continued to grow,” Perry added. “Retail has just grown a little bit faster the past couple years.”
In the next three years, Perry plans to find a way to open five more standalone shops or in 20 more Sprouts.
“We know that we love retail. We love connecting customers on that level,” she said.
