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From Bloomberg News | Starbucks Corp. denied Kraft Foods Inc.’s claim that the foodmaker has performed “exceptionally well” under an agreement that Kraft claims gives it exclusive rights to sell Starbucks coffee in grocery stores through 2014.
“Starbucks avers that it has repeatedly expressed its dissatisfaction to Kraft regarding Kraft’s performance” under the agreement, the world’s biggest coffee shop chain said in its answer to Kraft’s complaint. Get the full story>>
In the ongoing legal spat between Kraft Foods Inc. and Starbucks Corp., Kraft said Starbucks plans to sever a 12-year coffee-distribution deal on Jan. 29, although Kraft is scrambling to block the plan.
“By the week of Feb. 13, Kraft would be out of stock of many products, thereby causing harm to its retail customers in the form of lost sales,” Kraft said in a court filing dated Dec. 17. Get the full story »
Battling back from a dismal 2009, Gatorade is putting on its game face and launching a new advertising campaign seeking to cast itself as more than a sports drink.
Starting Wednesday, the Chicago-based unit of PepsiCo Inc. will be promoting in commercials its “G Series,” a trio of products it introduced earlier this year that targets student athletes looking for a drink before, during and after a workout or athletic event. Get the full story »
Chicago-based Hart Davis Hart reported its yearly wine auction sales totaled $39.2 million, a 63 percent increase over 2009. Get the full story »
Kraft Foods Inc. raised list prices on its well-known Maxwell House and Yuban coffee brands in the United States, effective Dec 14, a company spokeswoman said Wednesday. Get the full story »
A feud between Starbucks Corp. and Kraft Foods Inc. over supermarket coffee sales has been brewing since at least January — far longer than Kraft has acknowledged — according to email exchanges between their top executives provided by Starbucks.
The rift became public last month, when the Seattle coffee company said it wanted to end its 12-year-old distribution deal with Kraft, which sells bags of Starbucks coffee in supermarkets and other stores. Get the full story »
U.K.-based Diageo PLC, the world’s largest spirits company by volume, said Tuesday it is seeing signs of a recovery in demand in the U.S., though the consumer environment in the country remains unsettled.
“The fiscal 2011 situation remains unsettled, but we see signs of recovery. There is still high unemployment and low consumer confidence, but there are emerging, positive signs of life in fall retail sales. We are encouraged (by that),” Ivan Menezes, Diageo’s president of North America and chairman of the Asia-Pacific region, said on a call with investors. Get the full story »
The soft drink makers who brought you the “cola wars” are gearing up to fight on another battlefield, where the secret weapons are sweeteners and “flavor enhancers.”
John Sicher, editor of trade publication Beverage Digest calls it the “ingredient war.” Get the full story »
PepsiCo Inc. is buying a majority stake in Russian company Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods for $3.8 billion. The move will make PepsiCo the biggest Russian food and beverage company and broaden its presence in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Get the full story »
Starbucks provided only limited updates Wednesday on its dispute with Kraft Foods Inc., but did say it has been dissatisfied with Kraft for a while and claimed Kraft has failed to effectively work with Starbucks or promote its products.
The two companies entered arbitration after Starbucks announced it wanted to end a 12-year agreement under which Kraft distributes and promotes packaged Starbucks coffee in stores.
Kraft has said the agreement has been mutually beneficial and that it has helped deliver major gains for Starbucks. A Kraft spokesman said Wednesday that the companies’ dispute centers on how Starbucks will take over Kraft’s responsibilities and end the contract. Get the full story »
Starbucks is prepared to make acquisitions to help accelerate sales of bagged coffee and other consumer products beyond its cafes, Chief Executive Howard Schultz told investors on Wednesday.
The brass at Starbucks Corp says the consumer packaged goods business should grow faster than the company’s retail cafes, which total 17,000 globally.
But Wall Street wants specifics on how it will accomplish that goal, particularly as it works through a messy break-up with Kraft Foods Inc, which has handled sales of Starbucks packaged coffee and tea in supermarkets and club stores since 1998. Speaking at the company’s investor meeting in New York, Schultz said the Seattle-based coffee giant was prepared to buy small and large companies that would help expand its selection of consumer products. Starbucks shares rose 3.3 percent in morning trading. Get the full story »
(AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Starbucks may soon serve your morning coffee in a used paper cup that has been recycled into a new paper cup or napkins, as the coffee chain aims to ensure that 100 percent of its cups are reusable or recyclable by 2015.
In 2008, Starbucks set several aggressive goals to reduce its environmental impact. Over the past year, the company has introduced front-of-the-store centers in Toronto and Seattle to recycle cups, and in San Francisco, where cups can be composted. Get the full story »
A product image provided by Starbucks showing the company's new line of Seattle's Best Coffee. (AP Photo/Starbucks Corp.)
Starbucks Corp. wants to appeal a bit more to the average Joe.
This week, the company will roll out a new line of its Seattle’s Best Coffee to be sold at grocery stores and other retailers. It has a lighter taste and simpler selling approach that it hopes will attract coffee drinkers that Starbucks may have left behind.
The coffee giant acquired Seattle’s Best about seven years ago. Until recently, has let the brand sit quietly on the sidelines. But as competition for coffee drinkers has increased, Starbucks is looking to it for growth. Get the full story »
Starbucks Corp. and Kraft Foods began airing a messy divorce in public Monday, fighting over the dissolution of their partnership selling bags of Starbucks coffee at supermarkets.
Kraft said it had launched arbitration proceedings to challenge Starbucks’ attempt to end the agreement, sending shares of both companies lower.
At stake for Kraft is a partnership with $500 million in annual sales and strong profit margins. Starbucks may have to pay more than $1 billion to buy back the business and run it, a risky move for a company known for operating coffee shops, not selling packaged goods. Get the full story »
Sara Lee Corp. said Monday it agreed to buy Cafe Damasco, a small Brazilian coffee company, for roughly $60 million as it looks to strengthen its position in South America’s largest country. Cafe Damasco has a leading position in the southern Brazilian state of Parana, and 2009 net sales of about $60 million. Get the full story »
