Bastian Nast-Kolb (left) and Kolja Mühlberger (right) | Photo credit: Coffee Fellows

Germany’s Coffee Fellows has added Chief Finance Officer Bastian Nast-Kolb and Chief Operating Officer Kolja Mühlberger to its Board of Directors. 
 

The Munich-based coffee chain, which operates 260 stores across Germany and a further 25 across 11 international markets, said the move ‘emphasises its growth ambitions’ as it seeks to consolidate its market position at home and internationally.  

A Coffee Fellows spokesperson told World Coffee Portal that the coffee chain’s short-term goal is to scale its footprint in existing markets and said that while further international expansion is on the cards, contracts have yet to be signed. 

Nast-Kolb joined Coffee Fellows in October 2020 as Head of Finance and International Business before being promoted to Chief Finance Officer in April 2021. In a press release, Coffee Fellows said he is tasked with strengthening the company’s financial strategy and building its international store network. 
 

Mühlberger began working for the coffee chain in November 2021 as Head of New Business and was appointed Chief Operating Officer in January 2024. His board responsibilities include operations, marketing, business development, purchasing and IT. Mühlberger also sits on the Board of Directors at Swedish coffee chain Waynes. 

Nast-Kolb and Mühlberger join Managing Directors Stefan and Kathrin Tewes on Coffee Fellows’ Board of Directors.  

“Both Bastian and Kolja have already played a key role in the realignment and restructuring of Coffee Fellows in recent years. This change emphasises Coffee Fellows’ further growth ambitions,” said Dr Stefan Tewes, Founder, Coffee Fellows. 

Founded in 1999, Coffee Fellows bolstered its domestic store footprint in January 2024 by acquiring Wayne's 25-store business in Germany from Tank & Rast. The network, which included 24 stores at Tank & Rast motorway service stations and a single site outside of Friedrichstraße Rail Station in Berlin, has since been rebranded to Coffee Fellows.  

Coffee Fellows previously acquired Hamburg-based Campus Suite in 2019 but operates the 34-store coffee chain as a separate business under its original branding. 

Coffee Fellows’ international presence primarily comprises European markets, with stores in Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland. The coffee chain debuted in Mongolia with three outlets in 2019 and opened its first stores in the US and Egypt in June 2023.