About
Brice Smith
Coffee industry consultant, academic researcher, and the voice behind What's Brewing Now?
Background
Two decades in the cup.
Smith has lived the coffee business from every single angle — founding his own company as well as spending nearly two decades running international coffee companies. He's built teams, managed P&Ls, navigated franchise systems, and developed products from scratch.
His career spans ownership, operations, and executive leadership across multiple countries and formats — from founding Smith Coffee Company to serving as Country General Manager for Gloria Jean's Coffees, where he oversaw an entire national franchise operation.
Now, through Professor Smith.org, he brings that hard-won experience directly to independent operators, franchisees, wholesalers, and roasters who deserve the same strategic clarity the big chains take for granted.
Credentials
Experience that spans the industry
Founder
Smith Coffee Company
Country General Manager
Gloria Jean's Coffees
Academic researcher
Published in Knowledge Commons
Operations Manager
The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf
Consultant
Independent operators, franchisees & roasters
Expertise
Operations, P&L, franchise, wholesale & training
Leadership Philosophy
Brice's Leadership Philosophy
I have a simple rule: I will never ask my team to do something I wouldn't do myself.
To me, leadership is about continuous growth and absolute integrity. I believe that doing honest, ethical work is always more valuable than short-term profits.
I am constantly pushing myself to learn, adapt, and evolve through hands-on experience, and I expect the same drive from my team. When building a team, I don't look for the most impressive credentials on paper. I look for grit, personal accountability, and loyalty. You can teach skills, but you can't teach work ethic — and a dedicated team striving to be better today than they were yesterday is worth more than any resume.
I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best.
— Oscar Wilde
Academic work
Grounded in research
Brice's consulting practice is reinforced by peer-reviewed academic research. His published work bridges real-world coffee and hospitality operations with evidence-based frameworks — bringing scholarly rigour to practical business challenges.
Closing the value proposition gap. How food and beverage proprietors can leverage intangible assets for value co-creation: An S-D logic approach framework for rural tourism based economies.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17613/najkh-db136
Ready to work together?
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