The 19-Year-Old Taking On Starbucks (And Winning)

Picture this: A 19-year-old working at a grocery store in Quebec notices the same two canned coffee brands selling out every single day. Most people would shrug and move on. Xavier Bonneau saw a multi-million dollar opportunity.

Six months later, he's built CaffUp—a premium vanilla latte brand that's capturing customers across Canada through nothing but TikTok storytelling and pure hustle. Sometimes you meet a founder and just know they're destined for greatness. This is one of those times.

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The Interview:

💡 The "Aha!" Moment: Every great brand has their own story. It usually revolves around some “Aha” moment that starts your journey. Take us back to the “Aha!” moment for CaffUp.

It goes back to around April. I was living in Montreal with my friends, and I was always known as the guy who makes incredible coffee. Whenever friends came over, they’d ask me to make them coffee.

At the time, I needed money, so I got a job at a grocery store just to make ends meet. That's where everything clicked. At the time, there were only two companies who make lattes in a can, which was Starbucks and Trema, which is a local company. Every day I was refilling the cooler and they sold out, like every day. So I was like, “Damn, there it is. There's a market right there.”

Plus, I was seeing all these similar products launching in the US through LinkedIn, but in Quebec, we only had these two options. The problem? Starbucks was way too sugary, and while Trema was decent, I knew my coffee was better.

I thought, okay, maybe it's a great time to jump in and test the market.

🚀 The Value Proposition: Why is CaffUp The Next Big Up and Coming Brand?

We are living in a time where our to-dos are getting bigger and bigger—family, sports, friends, jobs, side projects. I'm one of the biggest coffee consumers because I have long days. I have school, I'm trying to grow CaffUp, I want to see my friends, and still go out. I have a pretty packed schedule.

The idea is, "Don't think about it, just CaffUp." It doesn't have to be crazy and you don't have to overthink it. Just CaffUp and go through it.

If you're someone who has a really packed schedule, then don't think about it—just CaffUp and go through it. At the end of the day, it might be a shitty day, it might be a good day, but at least you went through it.

❤️ Pathos: What is the feeling or vibe you want customers to have when they see it on the shelf and take that first sip?

I hope it gives them the fire in the belly to go through their day. Just CaffUp, so we don't think too much about it while we go throughout the day. You can see it in our packaging—it's just simple black and white. We don't need to overcomplicate things.

🚨 Red Lights: Building a consumer packaged goods (CPG) brand is notoriously hard. What’s been the biggest challenge?

The biggest challenge right now is being stuck in this weird middle ground. Half the people I talk to say, "Nice, you have an idea and it's coming to life," while the other half says, "But you're not in retail yet, you're not fully established."

I'm trying to push forward, but then people turn around and say, "You haven't proven enough to deserve that opportunity." So it's this constant juggling act between doing everything you possibly can while accepting that you're not where you want to be yet.

✅ Green Lights: On the flip side, can you share a moment that made you feel like all the hard work was finally paying off?

I see it happen all the time. I'll post a Reel or TikTok, and suddenly a brand new customer from 12 hours away orders a can just because the storytelling resonated with them. What really gets me is that people are willing to spend their hard-earned money on a product they've never tried, then wait two to three weeks for shipping—and they're still excited about it. That's the best feeling in the world right now: complete strangers who believe in me.

📱Social Media: Has TikTok been a big marketing avenue for you?

People kind of fall in love with the founder story. I think people now buy from people more than they buy a product. If people can see your face and see how much you care, I think it's a great way to start to get more views or get more great feedback. For me personally, that's what works best right now. But I think it's a great way for founders to start, or maybe just give it a chance to see how it goes.

🔮 What’s Next?: What does the future look like?

Right now we are about to sell out our first little pre-launch, and we are raising capital to make the production of between 20-30,000 units and try to get into retail. So that is our short-term goal, and the long-term goal is to dominate the North American market.

🤝 Pay it Forward: For anyone out there with a great idea for a food or beverage product, what is the single most important piece of advice you would give them before they start?

Just do it, just do the thing. Just try it out. You’re either gonna kill the idea or you’re gonna prove that it’s going to work. If it's working, you just keep on moving and if you kill the idea, then you just find another one. I think that's personally what was the best for me and I think there's no better advice.

Another thing would be to just put one foot in front of the other. There's no better way to learn, no better way to get data or any feedback than just start trying.I think that you just have to keep going with the punches.

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We first spotlighted CaffUp in our full brand Preview—check it out here. For real-time updates on Xavier's founder journey, follow him on TikTok where he shares the unfiltered reality of building a CPG brand solo.

In a world of over-engineered products and manufactured founder stories, Xavier and CaffUp feel refreshingly real. He saw a gap, filled it with quality, and built a following around authenticity. That's the blueprint for the next generation of consumer brands. Keep an eye on this one—and if you see CaffUp on a shelf, we urge you to grab a can. You'll be supporting not just a great product, but a founder who represents the future of CPG.