George Dannecker ’28 didn’t come to the University of St. Thomas looking for a business opportunity. He had already found one at the finish line of a trail race on the east coast. Now, the sophomore marketing and entrepreneurship major is bringing that discovery to campus, proving that entrepreneurial thinking can thrive anywhere, even 1,500 miles from home.
His connection to Mood Brew®, a Boston-based functional coffee company, began in summer 2025 after he finished a Spartan Race, where the brand serves as the official U.S. coffee sponsor. Walking through the vendor area, he tried the product at founder Alden Blease’s booth and immediately recognized its potential.
“It was something completely different than what’s in the market,” he said. “It was coffee that tasted like coffee but had all these additional benefits.”
Mood Brew combines adaptogenic mushrooms and amino acids to promote focus, memory and mood enhancement, offering a wellness-forward alternative to traditional caffeinated beverages.
In the days following the race, Dannecker approached Blease about helping with marketing and expansion. One phone call later, he had what he describes as an internship with significant creative freedom to pursue ideas such as bringing Mood Brew to coffee shops. His role now centers on marketing strategy and regional expansion from the East Coast to the Midwest, with the University of St. Thomas as the first Minnesota launch site. While the company primarily sells packets online and at events, Dannecker saw the coffee shop model as a strategic next step for brand growth.
Bringing that vision to campus required initiative and patience. During Welcome Week, before classes even started, Dannecker pitched the product to University Dining leadership. They sampled it at The Loft, saw its potential and agreed to move forward with a launch.
Mood Brew officially launched at The Loft coffee shop in Anderson Student Center this fall, and early results have exceeded expectations. It’s already outselling traditional espresso shots three to one, even with minimal marketing. The sales have been strong enough that Mood Brew is now expanding to STEAM Café in the Schoenecker Center.
Working through the campus launch taught Dannecker just how many steps go into introducing new products in food service. “The biggest thing is it takes time, nothing’s instant,” he said. “I get the idea and I’m going, going, going, but with University Dining and the [food service] industry in itself, everything takes a very long time.”
With traditional campus marketing channels requiring established sales first, Dannecker has leaned into grassroots tactics. He checked out a book on guerrilla marketing from the library and has relied on word of mouth, conversations with professors and students and simple promotional materials he designed for The Loft. He said students often tell him they’re surprised by how good the product tastes. “Everyone tells me, I didn’t even know there were mushrooms in it!”
Faculty mentors have provided strategic guidance along the way. In Professor John McVea’s Entrepreneurship & Innovation class, he studied case examples like Patagonia that show how companies build brands beyond their core products. Marketing Professor David Alexander has offered him mentorship and practical advice on ground-level marketing strategies, including plans for a sampling booth next semester.
Dannecker’s approach mirrors Mood Brew’s core philosophy of sustainable growth. “Our biggest thing is slowly but surely getting bigger,” he said. “If you just go all in, you can go under because you can’t sustain that amount [of growth].” We just want to be the best because it helps our brand image, it helps the people actually using our product.” He plans to use St. Thomas as a pilot program, gathering data on pricing, marketing strategies and customer feedback before expanding to local Minneapolis coffee shops next spring. “Minneapolis has the second biggest coffee scene in the country, so it’s just a hub for opportunity,” he noted.
His goals extend beyond sales figures. Dannecker wants Mood Brew to become part of students’ study routines, offering a healthier alternative during finals week. “When someone thinks, ‘I’ve got to lock in for my finals, I’m going to go to The Loft and get Mood Brew because it helps me way more than a Monster [energy drink],'” he said.
For Dannecker, a New Hampshire native who chose St. Thomas sight unseen for its entrepreneurial opportunities and tight-knit community, the Mood Brew launch represents the kind of hands-on learning he came here for.
“There’s no better way to learn about entrepreneurship and marketing than doing it yourself,” he said. “All the classes are great, but when you do it hands-on, that’s how I learn.”
