Case Study: Caribou Coffee achieves 73% frontline engagement and seamless, company‑wide communication with Beekeeper

How the coffeehouse chain scaled without losing its tight-knit culture

Caribou Coffee, a premium coffeehouse chain with over 800 locations and 7,000+ employees, faced a growing communications problem as it scaled: outdated tools like phone trees and a physical "Red Book" made it hard to keep frontline staff informed, engaged, and connected to leadership. To preserve its close-knit culture and consistent quality during rapid expansion, Caribou turned to Beekeeper and its Frontline Success Platform.

Beekeeper’s platform became a central hub accessible on any device, enabling instant updates, two-way communication (surveys, polls, chats), peer recognition, and the "Spark Stories" channel for company-wide engagement. The result: Beekeeper drove 73% frontline adoption (100% of general managers), provided instant access across 800+ locations, generated thousands of employee posts (about eight per day in Spark Stories in 2023), reduced miscommunication, saved managers time, and strengthened company-wide community and alignment.

Caribou Coffee

Jessica Monson

Chief Legal Officer