Reuters, Wall Street Journal Quote StudyLogic
Seattle`s Best Coffee to Hit the Freezer Aisle with Coffee Category`s First Frozen Blended Coffee Drink
Seattle`s Best Coffee, part of Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX), and leading specialty food manufacturerInventure Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ: SNAK) are teaming up to launch Seattle`s Best Coffee Frozen Coffee Blends, the coffee category`s first blend-at-home frozen coffee beverage. With the Spring 2013 launch of Seattle`s Best Coffee Frozen Coffee Blends, coffee enthusiasts can enjoy their favorite Seattle`s Best Coffee frozen drinks from the comfort of their own kitchen.
Seattle’s Best Coffee and Inventure Foods introduce Seattle’s Best(R) Frozen Coffee Blends, the coffee category’s first blend-at-home, cafe-quality frozen coffee beverages. Four unique flavors will hit freezer aisles at grocery stores and mass retailers nationwide this spring. (Photo: Business Wire)
This new product launch represents a move to bring frozen coffee into the home as a response to the growing popularity of at-home blending and the rise of blended coffee drinks. The Seattle`s Best Coffee Frozen Coffee Blends will appeal to a booming number of blended coffee drinkers in the U.S., sales of which have surged to $4.3 billion in 20122.
“This exclusive agreement with Seattle`s Best Coffee further underscores our position as a leading innovator in the specialty food and frozen beverage segments,” said Terry McDaniel, chief executive officer of Inventure Foods, Inc. “We are pleased to collaborate with a premier brand like Seattle`s Best Coffee to introduce a premium frozen beverage product, which we believe provides our retail partners with timely, on-trend beverage items in their frozen aisles.”
Seattle`s Best Coffee leveraged more than 40 years of coffee experience to help develop the new packaged coffee drinks. The new line of Seattle`s Best Coffee Frozen Coffee Blends is made with high-quality 100 percent arabica coffee beans, and will be available in four unique flavors: Coffee Chiller, Creamy Caramel, Very Vanilla, and Mega Mocha.
“Finally, there is an easy way for customers to make their own blended coffee,” said Jennifer Dimaris, vice president, brand management for Seattle`s Best Coffee. “The demand for blended coffee is heating up, and we`re ready to help coffee drinkers cool off with a Seattle`s Best Coffee-quality beverage in the comfort of their own homes.”
The at-home blended coffee drink puts equal emphasis on taste and convenience: consumers simply empty the contents of the frozen bag into a blender, add eight ounces of fat-free milk and press blend to make two, eight-ounce beverages in less than a minute. In addition, the Seattle`s Best Coffee Frozen Coffee Blends feature zero trans fats, just nine grams of sugar, and only 130 calories per serving when prepared as directed, providing a smart, customizable and convenient beverage to make at home.
“The recent growth of iced coffee suggests that consumers no longer view coffee as just a morning routine,” said Steve Sklar, senior vice president of marketing at Inventure Foods. “We see great potential for a delicious frozen coffee drink that can easily be made at home or at work any time of the day.”
With a suggested retail price ranging from $2.99-$3.49, each Seattle`s Best Coffee Frozen Coffee Blends will be sold in an eight-ounce, stand-up vertical packaging found in the freezer section of grocery stores and mass retailers.
1 Source: IRI Data, 52 weeks ending 1/27/13
2 Source: StudyLogic 2012
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/21/wa-starbucks-coffee-co-idUSnBw1mBzbBa+112+BSW20130221