Coffee Icon

  For Tomball-based business Coffee Icon, its fast and all organic growth can best be described as wildfire, drawing in and creating new customers from adjacent areas. The Tomball-based coffee superstore opened its third location in Cypress in September, and company President Mike Ferguson said his sights are set on expanding again in the coming year, possibly into the Katy market. "We scope out the areas and get a feel for the location," he said, noting that each store is near a large grocery chain or discount store where large numbers of people shop. Ferguson describes his business first by explaining what it is not. "We're not a coffee shop like Starbucks," he said. "We are a coffee superstore. Customers walk in for the first time and say, 'Wow. I've never been in a store like this before.'" Its products revolve around the increasingly popular world of single-serve coffee. The company began as an authorized Keurig distributor, selling the brewing systems and K-cup portions. "It's about convenience. Say you don't like dark roast or flavored coffee, but your husband does," Ferguson said. "Either he drinks your coffee or you drink his. You don't have to settle anymore. It cuts waste down. There are more than 300 varieties you can make, and we sell them all." Today, about half of Coffee Icon's sales are through its physical locations, with its online sales making up the other half. Though some customers are buying supplies for the office, the majority are buying them for home use. Meanwhile, the company continues to refine its offerings, a task that requires constant research, Ferguson said. "There's always something you can do different," he said. "We know one way to learn things, and that's the hard way. Our store concept is one we invented. We do things no one else really does." When demand rises in an area, the company plans to be there to meet it. "When we first started in Tomball, we pulled people from Magnolia," he said. "The same thing happened in the Cypress area. We kind of lure them in and then open a store in their area."

Locations:

Tomball: 18029 Hufsmith Kohrville Road Cypress: 26084 Hwy. 290 Magnolia/The Woodlands: 6606 FM 1488