Chefs+Tech: Does Corporate Investment Kill Indie Brands?

Editor's Note: Last year we announced that Skift was expanding into food and drink with the addition of the Chefs+Tech newsletter.  We see this as a natural expansion of the Skift umbrella, bringing the big-picture view on the future of dining out, being fanatically focused on the guest experience, and at the intersection of marketing and tech. We publish C+T twice weekly. Does Corporate Investment Kill Indie Brands? Last week, Blue Bottle announced it had sold a majority stake in its coffee company to Nestle. The deal, which was reported by the Financial Times to be near $500 million for 68 percent, launches the third-wave coffee company into the realm of corporations. Response has been torn between congratulating a team on its large sale and concern that the brand had sold out to Big Food. This sort of thing plays out all the time as beloved brands and companies become so successful that everyone wants a piece. There are positives and negatives, but at the end, sometimes corporate investment is the only way to grow. This also played out in the Bay Area a few years ago when Starbucks purchased beloved local chain La Boulange, spreading its recipes and branding across tons of Starbucks stores but totally killing its presence in its hometown. Do people like Blue B