The Best Stocks to Buy Right Now for March

The tech space isn't the only place to find attractive growth stocks. The consumer space is also a great place to find growth, and the sector tends to be less vulnerable to technological disruption. Let's look at two great consumer growth stocks to buy this month.

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Dutch Bros

One of the best growth stories in the market right now is a little coffee shop operator out of Oregon called Dutch Bros (NYSE: BROS). While it shares Pacific Northwest roots with Starbucks, the concepts are actually quite different.

While Starbucks looks to deliver an upscale coffeehouse experience where customers can sit down, relax, and enjoy sipping their beverages, Dutch Bros is all about speed. It operates small shops that are mostly served by drive-thrus, with most not having indoor seating.

Consumers love its sugary coffee concoctions and energy drinks, and its popularity is growing as the company invests in brand awareness building. Meanwhile, the introduction of mobile buy-ahead ordering has been helping drive same-store sales, and the introduction of hot food items looks to be its next big comparable-restaurant driver.

More than anything, though, Dutch Bros is a great regional-to-national expansion story. Given the size of its coffee shops, the cost to build a new store is cheap, allowing the company to see quick returns and fund its expansion through its cash flow. It currently has fewer than 1,100 locations, with plans to open 2,029 by 2029 and 7,000 in the U.S. over the long term.

Between its same-store sales growth and expansion opportunities, Dutch Bros is a stock to own.

e.l.f. Beauty

Two of the biggest growth drivers in the consumer space tend to be expansion for retailers and restaurants, and distribution and shelf-space gains for brands. While Dutch Bros falls into the first category, e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE: ELF) has a big opportunity in the second.

The cosmetics company has done a great job over the years in increasing the distribution and gaining shelf space for its namesake brand. Now, it gets to use the same playbook on fast-growing brand Rhode, which it acquired last year. Rhode shot to prominence, selling just a handful of skincare products on its website with little promotion outside its founder's (Hailey Bieber) celebrity fame. Now it is in LVMH's Sephora stores and has a long runway of distribution gains and additional product introductions ahead.

If you want to see a recent example of a consumer company successfully acquiring a hot brand and using its distribution network to reinvigorate growth, just look at energy drink maker Celsius buying Alani Nu. e.l.f. will use a similar strategy, but I think Rhode's growth runway will extend over a longer period, making it one of the most attractive growth stories in the consumer brand space.

Geoffrey Seiler has positions in Dutch Bros, LVMH Moët Hennessy-Louis Vuitton, and e.l.f. Beauty. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Celsius, Dutch Bros, Starbucks, and e.l.f. Beauty. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.