IOWA, USA — BLK & Bold is a locally-owned, nationally-distributed coffee roaster.
It is owned by two Black men, Pernell Cezar and Rod Johnson.
Of the Small Business Association loans awarded in Iowa in 2016—federally-backed loans offered by any financial institution that wants to participate—only $30,000 of $135 million went to Black-owned businesses.
Co-Founder Pernell Cezar told Local 5 the mission of BLK & Bold is about "beating odds of underlying oppression and willful ignorance within our personal lives, our professional lives and even with building a business."
Cezar and Johnson started the company to combine their passions of high-quality coffee and tea while giving back to the low-income communities they come from.
Coffee and tea is made at a high enough volume to be sold at box stores like Target and Whole Foods.
5% of their profits go to assist disadvantaged youth here at home.
It's all part of the business partners' goal to give back.
"Being able to help everyday consumers extend their social impact footprint by way of just checking things off of their grocery list," Cezar said. "And fortunately, we love the product that we consume enough that we can be passionate about it as well."
BLK & Bold makes about 100 pounds of coffee an hour, and they're growing rapidly. They'll be moving to a roastery on the south side of Des Moines this summer.
They were also the No. 1 new coffee on Amazon.
To find a store that sells BLK & Bold, click here.
Read more about small business in Iowa from a 2018 Small Business Administration report