When 6-year-old Charli Johnson suggested starting a coffee business to her dad, T. Shane Johnson, he thought it would be a valuable teaching opportunity and a “great way” for them to spend time together.
“It was just one of those kind of ‘aha moments’ as a dad,” T. Shane Johnson, a Marine Corps veteran, told FOX Business. “A lot of kids come up to you and say, ‘I want to do dance or football or baseball.’ We jumped right into it together.”
The father-daughter duo launched Big Guns Coffee in 2021, which today sells 38 coffee blends, as well as soaps and candles, both online and at a brick-and-mortar store in Tryon, North Carolina. Its products are available in stores across the country, according to T. Shane Johnson.
“At the same time, we are franchising our farms to Montana, Kentucky, California and other different places,” Charli Johnson added.
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Big Guns Coffee’s most popular products are its Charli’s Blend, a bold dark roast, and The Motivator, a medium roast.
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American-grown coffee is not common in areas outside California, Hawaii, Florida and Puerto Rico, according to T. Shane Johnson. Big Guns Coffee uses indoor hydroponic coffee farming, a first-of-its-kind coffee-growing method, to grow “the best, freshest and most effective” coffee, he said.
Hydroponic farming, which uses water to grow plants instead of soil, removes many of the challenges associated with traditional farming, like pests, water issues and climate problems. The coffee plants also use 98% less water than tillable land, according to T. Shane Johnson.
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“With hydroponics, we have a 12 to 1 ratio,” Charli Johnson said. “So, for every 12 acres on a regular farm, it is equal to 1 acre on [a] hydroponic [farm].”
T. Shane Johnson, the 2021 world record holder for the most push-ups completed in one hour, said he got the idea to grow hydroponic coffee after meeting a Navy veteran who grew hydroponic lettuce.
“It’s not something new, and it’s the future of farming,” T. Shane Johnson said, adding it could be beneficial for other farmers.
But for T. Shane Johnson, the greatest benefit of Big Guns Coffee is that his daughter gets to see the “ups and downs” that come with running a business. They were affected by Hurricane Helene and have faced challenges regarding the location of their brick-and-mortar store, he said.
“This is what makes the country so great,” T. Shane Johnson said. “It all starts at the dinner tables, so that we can get involved together in the community and play a part, so we can make a giant impact.”
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