Dairy Farmers Turn Weekend Project Into Thriving Canned Coffee Brand, Pulling In Tens of Thousands Monthly

Two Florida dairy farmers have turned an off-hours experiment into a profitable beverage business, with monthly revenue now hovering around $40,000 to $50,000 and plans to reach about $150,000 a month by year’s end. Dave Temple, 55, and Ed Henderson, 64, still run their farms while growing Thunder CoffeeMilk, a lactose-free, milk-forward canned coffee inspired by the iced-coffee traditions of Australia.

The idea began roughly eight years ago when Temple wanted to recreate the milk-brewed coffee he knew from Australia for American consumers. Early trials were literally conducted in Henderson’s home kitchen. The partners initially hoped to use milk from their own herds, but production realities pushed them to source milk closer to the factory that could combine coffee and dairy into a shelf-stable product.

To move past kitchen batches, the pair booked time at a university food processing facility in Michigan to run pilot production and learn how to make the cans shelf-stable. Those development runs required 15-hour drives each way, a modest initial budget of only a few ten-thousand-dollar increments and a lot of trial and error. Their farming background, they say, helped them stick with the long learning curve as they sorted out formulation and manufacturing logistics.

Building distribution and marketing networks proved another hurdle. Lacking contacts in processing and retail, Temple and Henderson leaned on their milk cooperative and industry acquaintances in Florida to make introductions. Today the company sells online and through other channels (the founders declined to detail the full retail footprint), and their product’s dairy-first positioning is a key selling point as shoppers look for alternatives to sugar-heavy energy and coffee drinks.

An industry consultant who studies ready-to-drink coffee noted that beverages emphasizing real-milk ingredients are gaining traction with consumers tired of artificial additives. A small-business advisor added that Thunder CoffeeMilk’s trajectory — starting with low overhead and methodical testing before scaling — follows a familiar pattern for successful side ventures that become full-time concerns.

For the founders, the project remains closely tied to their identity as dairy producers. They describe the effort as a practical extension of farming rather than a departure, and they credit steady persistence, outside help from regional processors and gradual reinvestment of earnings for the brand’s growth.

The couple hopes their story shows that a simple weekend project can grow into a sustainable business with patience and the right partnerships.