Aug. 16, 2026
Three brands. Three cups. So why do they all taste the same? Black Sheep Coffee co-founder and co-CEO Eirik Holth joins The Brian Nichols Show to break down how the coffee industry consolidated itself into a single flavor... and what it actually took to build 140+ shops going the other direction. Because that's the thing nobody says out loud. Starbucks, Dunkin', Tim Hortons, Scooter's, pick your favorite. The menu changes a little. The cup changes a little. The experience doesn't change at all. You get your coffee and you go. And somewhere along the way, the most human thing in the world - sitting down and having a cup of coffee with somebody - turned into a transaction. In 2013, Eirik and his college roommate Gabriel Shohet put a fixed date on the calendar, quit their corporate finance jobs, and moved to London with about $15,000 each and no business plan. They ripped apart pallets to build the first bar. Pulled materials out of junkyards. That wasn't a phase... it's the store des…