Henderson company boldly explores Star Trek sales frontier

Call it a marriage of two American favorites.

Gerald Levine says his coffee-roasting business employed several Star Trek "nuts." So he decided to combine his coffee products and his employees' fascination with the television and movie series into a business.

The result is Starbase-1 Coffee Co. Ltd., a Henderson company licensed to market various Star-Trek related collectibles.

"This company was formed solely for the purpose to market Star Trek food products," Levine said while sitting in his office, surrounded by hordes of Star Trek trinkets. "Every single thing we do is indigenous to the series."

The company's stock recently began trading on the NASDAQ over the counter board under the symbol "TREK." Even the stock certificates feature graphics reminiscent of the science fiction series.

Levine hopes the NASDAQ listing will help raise the company's profile.

Selling at about $5 per share, the stock, like the products, could attract interest from hardcore Trekkies who may not be able to afford stock in Viacom.

Viacom is the entertainment company that licenses Star Trek-related products. Its stock sells for about $60 per share.

Starbase has 799,133 shares outstanding. Levin said about 65 percent of the shares are controlled by insiders.

Starbase-1 roasts 20 different blends of coffee, each labeled with a Star Trek theme (Vulcan Decaffeinated, the Logical Choice, to name one).

But it's not the contents that sell the product, it's the packaging that is more likely to entice Trekkies to pay $15.95 for a 12-ounce package. The coffees are already showing up as souvenirs on the Star Trek convention circuit.

"Half the people will never drink it," Levine said.

The company sells about 70 percent of its product through direct sales and 30 percent to retail outlets. It currently sells its wares locally at a kiosk it operates in Meadows Mall and is working towards opening kiosks at other area malls.

Starbase also sells its products at the Star Trek: The Experience exhibit at the Las Vegas Hilton and on the Star Trek and science fiction convention circuits. Levine said the company has an agreement to sell gift packages through the QVC network and hopes to procure agreements with retail chains in the future.

The coffee is distributed from Kansas City, close to the brokers from whom Starbase buys its coffee. Starbase roasts and packages its coffees in Kansas City now, but Levine is looking for a West Coast distribution center in California. The company has about 17 employees in its Kansas City and Henderson operations.

Since its inception last year it has expanded its line of products to include chocolates, holographic hard candy and picture-themed bottles. All of the designs are done in-house.

"Being a first-year company, we're constantly in the design phase," said Marie Levine, Gerald's wife.

At its current rate, the company has projected sales of about $1.5 million annually. But this year will be the company's first full holiday shopping season.

Coupled with that will be a new Star Trek movie set to open in December, which Levine expects will re-ignite interest in Star Trek souvenirs.

"We don't know what will happen at Christmas," Levine said.

Levine hopes to eventually buy coffee houses, rename them Starbase-1 and feature staff dressed in Star Trek uniforms.

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