Christine Barone

Company: Dutch BrosTitle: President & CEOIndustry: Food/RestaurantNotable in 2024: Barone led Dutch Bros. to record results in her first year as CEO, through a mix of new digital ventures, product launches, and expansion.

Coffee is a very big business. Millions of jobs, billions in revenue, and intense competition for the high share of consumer spending on the caffeinated must-have in the daily life of many Americans. Like iconic Pacific Northwest coffee brand Starbucks, Dutch Bros also got its start in the uppermost region of the contiguous U.S., founded in 1992 by two brothers and a pushcart in Oregon.

The company stresses that its success is as much about being in the relationship business as coffee business, with an emphasis on the customer experience. Last year, it elevated Christine Barone, who had joined in 2023 as president, to the chief executive officer position to take that mission to the next level. Previously, Barone had been a senior executive at Starbucks and then CEO of restaurant chain True Food Kitchen.

With Barone in charge, the company has a goal of opening 4,000 shops in the next 10-15 years. The company recently opened its 1,000th store in Orlando, Florida, and has come a long way from its Oregon double espresso machine pushcart origins, now in 18 states with both company-owned and franchised locations. Dutch Bros has plans for "at least" 160 shops in 2025, and in a recent CNBC interview, Barone said the company is "excited to continue at a very rapid pace of growth."

Barone sticks closely to the company's original mission, telling CNBC's Jim Cramer, "I think what customers are coming in for is the experience. And so they're balancing what they're paying with what they're getting. And I think when you come to a Dutch Bros it's not just about the beverage, it's really about the service and that conversation you're having with us."

The stock has been up and down since its 2021 IPO, but it's clearly getting a lot right lately when judged by its recent stock chart versus that of Starbucks, up 165% over the past year versus a 16% return for the biggest coffee retail company in the world. Total revenue in the most recent quarter, reported earlier in February, grew 35% to $343 million.

In addition to launching a new mobile ordering system since Barone took the reins, Dutch Bros launched into new product categories beyond coffee, such as Boba and protein milk. While all of that may seem to be occurring at a pace well behind Starbucks, Nation's Restaurant News noted that the more deliberate strategy has been working.

"Ultimately, what's most important to us is that this is something that is a positive experience for both our customers and our baristas," Barone told the trade publication.

She told CNBC that even with its aggressive plans for national store expansion, the strategy comes back to a simple premise: "You get there one at a time."