Death Wish Coffee names CPG veteran Steve Gardiner as CEO

Death Wish Coffee Co. has appointed Steve Gardiner as its new CEO, signaling a push for accelerated growth and expanded market reach for the organic and Fair Trade coffee brand.
Sept. 10, 2025

Death Wish Coffee Co. has appointed Steve Gardiner as its new CEO, signaling a push for growth and expanded market reach for the organic and Fair Trade coffee brand.

Gardiner has nearly 30 years of experience in the food and beverage sector, including leadership roles at Nature’s Bakery and PepsiCo, where he helped drive growth for brands such as Quaker, Tropicana and Gatorade. His expertise in scaling consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands is expected to help Death Wish Coffee build on its position in the premium coffee category.

Though the company primarily markets its products directly to consumers via its website. Death Wish Coffee also offers wholesale formats to meet the demand for premium coffee in workplace environments. They include frac packs, single-serve pods and bulk bags available through its wholesale portal and other OCS distributors.

“Steve’s strategic vision will be extremely valuable as we grow our national footprint and introduce a steady pipeline of innovation to our community of coffee lovers,” said founder Mike Brown in a release.

Gardiner said he looks forward to building on Death Wish Coffee’s reputation for bold, high quality blends while expanding access to its Fair Trade and organic offerings.

About the Author

Linda Becker

Editor-in-Chief

Linda Becker is editor-in-chief of Automatic Merchandiser and VendingMarketWatch.com. She has more than 20 years of experience in B2B publishing, writing, editing and producing content for magazines, websites, webinars, podcasts, newsletters and eBooks, primarily for manufacturing and process engineering audiences. Since joining Automatic Merchandiser and VendingMarketWatch.com, Linda has developed a new appreciation for the convenience services industry and the essential role it plays. She is dedicated to serving readers by covering the latest news in the vending, office coffee service and micro market industry. She can be reached at 262-203-9924 or [email protected].

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