Tom Hanks Loves Veterans!

As a veteran, I was both surprised and delighted to see that one of my favorite actors, Tom Hanks, started his own coffee brand whose proceeds all go to supporting veterans.

To me, this story blends all my favorite things: supporting my fellow vets, coffee (which I love!), watching Tom Hanks movies and using influence to do good things in the world.

I talk a lot about brand licensing and its benefit of allowing a brand to expand into a category through a business that makes a product in that category. While this doesn’t exactly hit the mark for a licensed product, it has a lot of the same hallmarks. Tom is lending his personal brand to promote the sale of Hanx coffee, and the profits (instead of royalties, which is what comes from licensing partnerships) go to veteran causes instead of to Tom.

Read more in this Food and Wine story about Hanx For Our Troops!