5 Big Brands Native to Colorado
Your annoying friend on Instagram isn't Colorado's only native. These Colorado-based companies were born right here in the Rockies.
1. Chipotle
Chipotle's first location was a remodeled Ice Cream shop in south Denver, near Denver University. This location was opened in July of 1993 and since then the company has taken off, as of December 2022 there are over 3,100 Chipotles in the United States.
The company prides itself on a different type of fast food, by introducing "Food with Integrity", or for healthy ingredients in a fast food chain. They have been able to keep up with this mantra for almost thirty years of being open. The company went public in 2006 and basically if you invested 10,000 in them then, you'd have over half a million dollars. Safe to say, what once was a little Mexican restaurant out of South Denver made it.
2. Coors Brewing Company
In 1873, Adolph Coors started a brewery in Clear Creek, Colorado right at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. The company has survived a lot of hardship in its 150+ years of business. The biggest of that being surviving Prohibition, continuing on to be the largest brewing company in the world.
It's pretty amazing that the largest brewery in the world is just 30 minutes from Downtown Denver. The history is intriguing and inspiring, and you can learn all about it at the Coors Brewery in Golden Colorado for their tours and tastings open every Thursday- Sunday.
3. Otterbox
Founded in 1998 by Curt Richardson in his Fort Collins, Colorado Garage. When he started it he was known for his water-resistant and unbreakable phone cases. The company originally was geared toward people who are outdoor enthusisits, which is why Colorado is such a great place for this electronic protective piece to be born.
Since then, the company has expanded to not only cases but portable chargers, adaptors, and other phone accessories. in 2004, the company started hitting off with his unbreakable iPod case, which helped parents with their breaking-everything stage children.
In the past ten years, the company has been named one of Forbes' Most Promising Companies, as of today they employ almost 1,000 people and are a global company.
4. Crocs
In 2002, three Colorado natives designed and produced Crocs in Boulder, Colorado. Originally Crocs came out as a boat shoe, with a lightweight Croslite material. A mere 20 years later they are one of the highest-selling footwear in the world.
Over twenty years they have been able to remain a top space in the footwear industry. They have celebrity endorsements like Justin Beiber, Bad Bunny, Post Malone, Drew Berrymore, and more. Along with that they have collaborated with some of the biggest designers like Balenciaga.
Three Colorado Natives put their heads together to collaborate on a boat shoe, and now that shoe is worn fashionably by some of the biggest celebrities in the world, but also the backbone of our medical industry, worn daily by Nurses and Doctors.
5. Celestial Seasonings
Mo Seigel, a Colorado Native in 1969 simply went into the field and forests in Boulder Colorado to pick herbs, and started brewing them into tea. In the next couple of years, he started on a small scale selling to local Boulder health stores. By 1977 they started selling their teas internationally, and their "Sleepy Time" tea made Celestial Seasonings was a household name.
Celestial had some business bumps, bought by Kraft in 1977 and then eleven years later they bought their brand back. After that, the company has only expanded and established itself. The headquarters still is in Boulder Colorado, and stands as the first herbal tea company headquarters.
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