Two Columbia Students, $7,000, and a Box of Cold Brew — and We Were the First Agency They Ever Called

Two Columbia grad students launched Wandering Bear out of their business-school classroom with mason jars of homemade cold brew and about $7,000 – and Carnsmedia was the first agency they ever hired. Carnsmedia built the brand’s first audience in New York; today its cold brew ships to doors across America.

The Ask

Launch a new “cold brew coffee in a box” delivery service — to homes and offices, starting in New York City.

The Challenge

Two Columbia grad students who had started the company on about $7,000, hand-delivering boxes to New York offices.

The founders, Matt Bachmann and Ben Gordon, were Columbia Business School students. Carnsmedia was the first agency they ever hired — and in that first year, we did everything: brand positioning, social media, photography and digital advertising.

Capturing New York

The launch playbook was photography and targeting. We shot the bear at Coney Island, in Washington Square Park and in the Flatiron District, built the #FuelYourNow and #FuelYourOffice campaigns, and aimed subscription coffee at the office managers of New York’s creative, finance and tech firms. Social reach and engagement grew over 300%, and the early partners followed — FreshDirect, Murray’s Cheese, Barry’s Bootcamp — with features in Esquire, Vogue, Uncrate and the Village Voice.

Wandering Bear

Across America

The little office-delivery brand became an e-commerce company. When the pandemic emptied the offices that had been most of its business, Wandering Bear pivoted to selling direct — and grew to roughly three times its pre-COVID revenue, shipping cold brew to doors nationwide. Today the company counts more than 100,000 subscribers, sells in Target stores across the country, and put its protein cold brew latte into Whole Foods nationwide; in 2024, Instacart named it the fastest-growing beverage brand in America.

Wandering Bear