Starbucks® coffee and Tazo®
tea to be available for new Keurig® Vue™
Brewer
SEATTLE & WATERBURY, Vt.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar. 21, 2012--
Starbucks Coffee Company (NASDAQ: SBUX) and Green Mountain Coffee
Roasters, Inc. (GMCR) (NASDAQ: GMCR), a leader in specialty coffee and
coffee makers, today announced the expansion of their strategic
relationship for the manufacturing, marketing, distribution and sale of
Starbucks-branded Vue™ packs for use in GMCR’s recently
introduced Keurig® Vue™ Brewer.
“We are proud to expand our relationship with Green Mountain Coffee
Roasters and are looking forward to working with our colleagues at GMCR
to further accelerate growth in premium single-serve coffee,” said Jeff
Hansberry, president, Channel Development, for Starbucks. “Premium
single cup is the fastest-growing segment of global coffee, and the
expansion of our relationship with GMCR allows us to grow further,
faster, in the single cup category.”
Starbucks is the exclusive, licensed super-premium coffee brand produced
by GMCR for the Keurig K-Cup® Single Cup Brewing system and
now, with the expanded relationship, the new Vue™ system.
According to the terms of the agreement, Keurig® is the
exclusive low-pressure (30 psi or under), single cup brewing system of
its kind offering fresh-brewed Starbucks® coffee and Tazo®
tea. Starbucks and GMCR expect GMCR to distribute Starbucks Vue™
packs initially in specialty, department store, and mass retailers in
the U.S. as well as on GMCR’s consumer direct websites by fall 2012.
“The success of our Keurig® Single Cup Brewing system has
been driven by choice – choice of coffee brands and beverage varieties,
and choice of brewer features and models. With the introduction of Vue™
we’ve expanded that choice even further, giving consumers a brewer with
features and functionality they’ve told us they value most,” said
Lawrence J. Blanford, GMCR president and CEO. “We believe the
customization offered by Vue™ and its appeal as a premium
beverage solution will resonate with loyal Starbucks consumers, and
we’re pleased to have Starbucks® coffee as a brand option in
the system as we move forward.”
About Starbucks Corporation
Since 1971, Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX) has been committed to
ethically sourcing and roasting the highest quality arabica
coffee in the world. Today, with stores around the globe, the company is
the premier roaster and retailer of specialty coffee in the world. In
addition to its Starbucks retail stores, the company produces a wide
range of branded consumer products globally, including ready-to-drink
beverages, packaged coffees and premium ice creams. The company’s brand
portfolio features Starbucks Coffee, Tazo Tea, Seattle’s Best Coffee and
Torrefazione Italia Coffee, enabling Starbucks to appeal to a broad
consumer base. For more information, please visit us online at www.starbucks.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements, including relating to
a strategic relationship with Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. and
Keurig, Inc., and expectations and strategy regarding the single
serve-coffee sector. These forward-looking statements are based on
currently available operating, financial and competitive information and
actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied by
the statements due to a number of significant risks and uncertainties.
These risks and uncertainties include: continued growth in the
single-serve sector of the coffee industry and market acceptance of
Starbucks coffee in that sector; the ability of Starbucks to accelerate
its growth in the single-serve sector; the success of the Keurig®
Vue™ Brewer; competition from existing and new premium coffee
entrants including similar single-serve platforms; and other risks
detailed in the Starbucks filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, including the “Risk Factors” section of Starbucks Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal ended October 2, 2011. The company
assumes no obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements.
About Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc.
As a leader in specialty coffee and coffee makers, Green Mountain Coffee
Roasters, Inc. (GMCR) (NASDAQ: GMCR), is recognized for its
award-winning coffees, innovative Keurig® Single Cup brewing technology,
and socially responsible business practices. GMCR supports local and
global communities by offsetting 100% of its direct greenhouse gas
emissions, investing in sustainably-grown coffee, and donating at least
five percent of its pre-tax profits to social and environmental
projects. For more information, please visit us online at www.GMCR.com;
www.greenmountaincoffeeroasters.com
or www.keurig.com.
GMCR routinely posts information that may be of importance to investors
in the Investor Relations section of its website, including news
releases and its complete financial statements, as filed with the SEC.
The Company encourages investors to consult this section of its website
regularly for important information and news. Additionally, by
subscribing to the Company’s automatic
email news release delivery, individuals can receive news directly
from GMCR as it is released.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained herein are not based on historical fact and
are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the applicable
securities laws and regulations. Generally, these statements can be
identified by the use of words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,”
“estimate,” “expect,” “feel,” “forecast,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,”
“potential,” “project,” “should,” “would,” and similar expressions
intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all
forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Owing to the
uncertainties inherent in forward-looking statements, actual results
could differ materially from those stated here. Factors that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking
statements include, but are not limited to, the difficulty in
forecasting sales and production levels, the degree to which there are
changes in consumer sentiment in this difficult economic environment,
the Company’s success in efficiently expanding operations and capacity
to meet growth, the Company’s success in efficiently and effectively
integrating the Company’s acquisitions, the ability to maximize or
successfully assert our intellectual property rights, the Company’s
success in introducing and producing new product offerings, the
Company’s dependence on external capital, including the Company’s credit
facility, competition and other business conditions in the coffee
industry and food industry in general, fluctuations in availability and
cost of high-quality green coffee, any other increases in costs
including fuel, the Company’s ability to continue to grow and build
profits in the At Home and Away from Home businesses, the Company’s
ability to attract and retain senior management, the continued
availability of a consistent supply of parts for our brewers, and the
brewers themselves, the Company experiencing product liability, product
recall and higher than anticipated rates of warranty expense or sales
returns associated with a product quality or safety issue, the extent to
which the data security of the Company’s websites may be compromised,
the impact of the loss of major customers for the Company or reduction
in the volume of purchases by major customers, delays in the timing of
adding new locations with existing customers, the Company’s level of
success in continuing to attract new customers, sales mix variances,
weather and special or unusual events, the impact of the inquiry
initiated by the SEC and any related litigation or additional
governmental investigative or enforcement proceedings, as well as other
risks described more fully in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K
for fiscal year 2011 and other filings with the SEC. Forward-looking
statements reflect management’s analysis as of the date of this release.
The Company does not undertake to revise these statements to reflect
subsequent developments, other than in its regular, quarterly earnings
releases.
Source: Starbucks Coffee Company
Starbucks Coffee Company
(Media)
Alisa Martinez,
+1-206-318-7100
press@starbucks.com
or
(Investors)
JoAnn
DeGrande, +1-206-318-7118
investorrelations@starbucks.com
or
Green
Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc.
Suzanne DuLong, +1-802-882-2100
Suzanne.DuLong@gmcr.com