Cowboy, coffee & Sandias lead to international business

Rio Ranchoan Max Wade starts his morning by live-streaming himself drinking coffee at sunrise, looking at the Sandia Mountains.

Those livestreams, done under his TikTok name Cowboy Max, quickly garnered national and international interest, with people from around the globe captivated by Wade’s live videos showcasing the area’s natural beauty and the Wades’ farm animals. Those livestreams quickly evolved into his own coffee brand, named Cowboy Max Coffee, which has been in business since April 23 and has an evolving online customer base.

The New Mexico reach quickly expanded to include the entire United States, which in turn expanded to include Canada, Australia, Brazil, Taiwan and the Philippines.
Wade, who owns Galloping Goats Pumpkin Patch in Rio Rancho, said COVID-19 restrictions halted the annual pumpkin patch event last year, so he had to find other avenues to make up for that economic blow.

He logged on to TikTok and started recording videos, and his new business took off from there.

“We’re drinking coffee every morning and realized we have several thousand people that are tuning in,” Wade said. “It’s been very steady, very consistent ever since (the launch), and we’ve got people from all around the world that buy the coffee.”

Wade said the pandemic restrictions for overseas mailing have made it more expensive to ship his product outside of the U.S., prolonging the wait time until an international customer gets the coffee.

He said he hopes that process will speed up once restrictions ease more, given how much that extra international recognition’s leading to extra international demand. He also said anywhere from 5,000 to 25,000 people globally are tuning into his live shows on weekdays, and those individuals are intrigued by Rio Rancho as a result.

In a working partnership with Wade, Oval Dogs Coffee in Rio Rancho roasts the coffee. Purchases still come from the locals, but Oval Dogs co-owner Daniel Sanchez said other sales have included shipping at least 15 to 20 pounds of coffee to customers in Australia, Canada and the Netherlands.

“It’s probably doubled our sales,” Sanchez said. “I kind of knew it was going to come, but it was still a big shock to the system.”

Going forward, Wade said he and Sanchez are working to add organic tea and holiday coffee flavors to the inventory.

Cowboy Max Coffee is available at cowboymaxcoffee.com. Wade’s TikTok account is at tiktok.com/@cowboymax.