Caribou Coffee, Minneapolis, announced that all coffee and espresso varieties available in its stores, online and at retail are now sourced from Rainforest Alliance-certified farms.
The economic downturn caused many consumers to cut back across categories, but coffee consumers have found new ways to enjoy their cup of joe. Approximately 79 percent of adults in the United States drank coffee in the last two years, according to Chicago-based Mintel Group Ltd.’s October Coffee report. However, 48 percent of coffee drinkers surveyed said they are drinking more coffee at home and less away from home in 2011 than they were a year ago — a trend that Mintel predicts will continue to drive retail coffee sales through 2012.
In its “Breakfast Consumer Trend Report,” Chicago-based research firm Technomic notes that coffee is playing an increasingly important role in consumers’ breakfast purchasing decisions. Thirty-three percent of consumers who drink coffee at breakfast say they are loyal to a coffee brand or restaurant that serves their preferred coffee, which is an increase from 25 percent who reported loyalty in 2009, it states.
After receiving feedback from focus groups after the brand’s initial rollout, RealBeanz reworked its packaging, the shape of which was inspired by old milk bottles.
Starbucks Coffee Co., Seattle, announced the acquisition of Evolution Fresh Inc., San Bernardino, Calif. The $30 million acquisition is part of the coffee company’s commitment to evolve and enhance the customer experience with innovative and wholesome products, the company says. It announced plans to reinvent the $1.6 billion super-premium juice segment and said the acquisition is a significant step in entering the more than $50 billion health and wellness sector.
Last month, redesigned Honest Tea and Honest Ade PET bottles began hitting store shelves. Honest Tea, the Bethesda, Md.-based wholly owned subsidiary of Coca-Cola, initiated the packaging design changes more than three years ago.
Starbucks Coffee Co., Seattle, introduced a new community model in the neighborhoods of Harlem, N.Y., and Crenshaw, Calif., where community organizations will share in the profits of a store in each community. Starbucks will donate a minimum of $100,000 to a local community organization for the first year of the partnership as it assesses the success of the program and gathers learning in hopes of creating a new type of corporate engagement in communities, the company says.
We’ve heard of blind taste tests between competitive products. Oftentimes, consumers can’t tell the difference between a national brand and its private-label equivalent. However, in recent years, retailers have taken it to a whole new level. These days, consumers might find it difficult to pick out a private label product on-shelf because of the way it’s packaged and marketed.
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (GMCR), Waterbury, Vt., announced that Aramark Refreshment Services LLC, Philadelphia, will acquire the Van Houtte U.S. Coffee Service business, also known as Filterfresh, from GMCR for approximately $145 million.