This guy built an 8-Figure Office Snack Service.

Claude Burns didn’t grow up with dreams of starting an office snack company. He just needed to offload some beer.

Back in 2013, Claude was running a craft beer subscription box. But most of the business came from schlepping kegs around the San Francisco Bay Area in his Jeep. One day, while picking up empty kegs at LinkedIn, he made a pitch in the elevator (yes, literally an elevator pitch). That pitch turned into Office Libations, which now serves coffee, snacks, and drinks to offices across the country.

Today, the company is doing 8 figures in revenue, closing in on 100 employees, and building software to quietly run one of the most complex vending businesses in the country.

I sat down with Claude to hear how it all started and how he kept going after losing 95% of revenue in two weeks.

1. Who are you and what do you do?
I’m Claude Burns, founder and CEO of Office Libations. We help companies keep their offices stocked with coffee, snacks, and drinks. Basically anything that makes a break room functional. We’re based in the SF Bay Area and serve clients across the U.S.

2. How’d you get into this business?
It started as a beer subscription club. We helped amateur brewers get their recipes professionally brewed, then shipped those beers to customers. But we were brewing more than we were selling.

So we started selling kegs to offices. I’d wake up at 5 a.m., load the Jeep with beer, and drive around making deliveries. One day at LinkedIn, I was picking up empties after a happy hour, and pitched the guy in the elevator. Told him I’d beat his current price by 10% and deliver it myself. He said yes.

That was our first real customer.

3. What helped you grow after that?
Understanding the real problem. At first, I thought price was the differentiator. But customers didn’t care about saving 10%. They wanted reliability. They wanted someone who would show up on time, solve problems quickly, and not screw up their break room.

We realized we weren’t selling products. We were selling time, trust, and peace of mind. Once we internalized that, things started to scale fast.

4. What was the big turning point?
Switching from alcohol to daily consumables. Not every company wants beer in the office. But everyone drinks Diet Coke.

We leaned into snacks, drinks, coffee, and things people use every day. Then we built internal software to manage operations and deliveries. That let us scale without the wheels falling off.

5. How did COVID affect you?
It nearly killed us. We lost 95% of revenue in two weeks. Our whole thesis was people will always eat, and people will always go to work. Turns out, they stopped going to work.

But we never shut down. Some biotech and manufacturing clients stayed open, and we served them. We figured if we could survive long enough, people would eventually come back to the office.

It took longer than we hoped, but it’s finally happening.

6. What’s the biggest misconception about your industry?
That it’s just vending machines. Our clients don’t want to press a button for a Snickers. They want a fully stocked, self-serve kitchen that works without them thinking about it. If something’s missing, it’s our fault.

We’re not just selling snacks. We’re selling a silent, seamless experience. If we’re doing it right, nobody notices us.

7. Favorite tools?
We built our own software to run operations. It’s a mix of CRM, ERP, and logistics. Other tools we use inlcude: HubSpot, Gmail, Slack, Notion, Monday, Invoiced (huge time saver), and Ramp.

8. If you started a new business today, what would it be?
I’d actually skip AI. Too crowded, and too fast-moving. I’d look at the middle of the market. Businesses that don’t have cutting-edge tools yet but could massively benefit from them. The fat part of the curve.

There’s gold in helping those companies modernize.

9. Best advice for other founders?
Don’t quit.
The fail-fast mindset works for investors. Not for entrepreneurs. Most great businesses take years to get right.

We’ve had massive ups and downs. But every year we stayed in the game, something good eventually happened. That’s the job: stick around long enough to get lucky.

Final Takeaways

1. Great businesses can start with a side hustle, but you have to take them seriously.
   

2. Your real differentiator might not be what you think. Claude thought he sold cheap-er beer, but customers bought reliability
   

3. Don’t underestimate boring categories. Diet Coke beats craft beer in volume.
   

4. You only lose if you quit. Office Libations survived a 95% drop in revenue by refusing to die.

If you’re interested in connecting with Claude, you can reach him at [email protected] (or in the Tribe Slack group).