Black Rifle Coffee Skips Discounts, Releases Memorial Day Tribute Video

Black Rifle Coffee Company is taking a different approach to Memorial Day this year. Instead of running promotions or discount codes, co-founder Mat Best released “Folded Flag” — an original song and music video dedicated to fallen service members and the Gold Star families left behind. The video is backed by a $150,000 commitment to the Major Brent Taylor Foundation.

A Personal Story Behind the Song

Best wrote the song in memory of his friend Luke, who died in 2008. He hopes the video encourages people to reflect on the true meaning of Memorial Day, which he believes has become overly commercialized. While barbecues and time off are fine, Best wants the generational cost of American freedom — from Omaha Beach to the Global War on Terror — to remain front and center over the holiday weekend.

Mission Woven Into the Brand

Black Rifle Coffee was founded in 2014 by Best and CEO Evan Hafer, a former Special Forces soldier who once roasted coffee in the back of a Humvee during the Iraq invasion. The company, now a public benefit corporation, has a built-in fiduciary responsibility to support charitable causes. The Memorial Day donation will fund events like a gathering at Fort Benning, where 50 to 60 Gold Star families can connect and access support resources.

For Best, the project reflects what Black Rifle has always stood for — great coffee paired with a mission that genuinely serves the military community, not just markets to it.