Alumni
Rise and Grind
Two alumni developed an alternative to chewing tobacco that is making its way into professional baseball, football and hockey.
By Melina Hernandez // Photos courtesy of Grinds Pouches and
the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
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Matthew Canepa (left) and Patrick Pezet with their latest line of Grinds products.
Late one night in San Luis Obispo nearly 20 years ago, two Cal Poly baseball teammates searched an almost-empty cupboard for something to keep them awake long enough to finish a project. With little on hand, they tried something unconventional: chewing coffee grounds the way they had seen players chew tobacco.
For Matthew Canepa (Business Administration ’09) and Patrick Pezet (Business Administration ’09), this late-night fix unknowingly became the foundation for Grinds Coffee Pouches, a company creating a nicotine-free alternative to chewing tobacco.
“Without Cal Poly, there would be no Grinds,” Canepa said. “We took that Learn by Doing motto and pushed ourselves to actually try something different.”
Canepa and Pezet pitching at Cal Poly’s Business Plan Competition in 2009.
The duo had played minor league baseball but returned to Cal Poly determined to earn their degrees. They saw a flyer advertising an information session for a Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) startup competition called Innovation Quest (iQ) promising free pizza. Little did they know that in just a few months, they would win first place.
“Truthfully, we went to the meeting for the free food,” Pezet said. “It was really the people in the room who encouraged us to pursue this idea seriously.” The people in that room were iQ creators Carson Chen (Electrical Engineering ’73), Richard Boberg (Electrical Engineering ’70) and Laura Pickering (Electrical Engineering ’84). With CIE’s mentorship and the competition’s prize money, Canepa and Pezet decided to test whether their idea had real potential.
After graduation, they introduced their product to players and coaches in Major League Baseball as a healthier alternative to tobacco. The feedback during the 2010 season was consistent: promising concept, poor product. Validation came when San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy called two days after winning the World Series to say he had been using Grinds all season to quit chewing tobacco, proving that demand was real, even if the execution needed work.
Our company culture mirrors something you’d see from a professional sports organization. Take ownership, work hard and have integrity.
The founders looked for better machinery and manufacturing partners willing to take a chance on a young company with an unconventional idea. They improved the product, gained national media coverage and made an appearance on Shark Tank in 2013. Meanwhile, Grinds built relationships with MLB, National Football League and National Hockey League teams to cultivate a steady stream of returning customers.
Today, Grinds employs 50 people and operates a vertically integrated manufacturing facility in Indiana. Bringing production in-house gave Canepa and Pezet greater control over quality and innovation, allowing them to refine the product and respond quickly to customer demand. With new production lines, Grinds seems poised for growth.
The latest line of Grinds Pouches.
They’ve expanded beyond their original coffee pouches into white energy pouches that feature more flavors and other benefits, like vitamins.
Grinds crossed the eight-figure revenue mark in 2019 and has maintained steady 20 to 30% year-over-year growth since. In 2025, the company experienced its strongest sales to date, growing over 40%.
“Our company culture mirrors something you’d see from a professional sports organization,” Canepa said. “Take ownership, work hard and have integrity. We are a team here because we’re always evolving and trying to get better.”
That ethos traces back to their shared experience on the Cal Poly baseball team and continues to shape leadership decisions. Sixteen years in, the founders feel excited every time they can connect to their alma mater.
“We take a lot of pride in being Cal Poly alums,” Pezet said. “We’ve always made a conscious effort to give back as much as we could, whether that be through time or money. It’s cool to provide insight and get renewed motivation from the next generation of entrepreneurs.”
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