Green Mountain Coffee and The J.M. Smucker Team to Make Folgers Coffee Brands Available in K-Cup Portion Packs
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. will be the exclusive manufacturer of Smucker coffee brands of K-Cups using roasted and blended coffee beans provided by Smucker.
25 Feb 2010 --- Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. and The J.M. Smucker Company announced a multiyear manufacturing and distribution agreement under which GMCR will manufacture certain coffee brands owned by Smucker, including Folgers Gourmet Selections and Millstone in single-serve K-Cup portion packs for Keurig Single-Cup Brewers. Smucker is a leader in the U.S. retail coffee market with its brands Folgers, Folgers Gourmet Selections, and Millstone. Smucker also manufactures and markets the Dunkin Donuts coffee brand through retail channels in North America.
Under terms of the agreement, Smucker will have the ability to market and sell a variety of Folgers Gourmet Selections and Millstone K-Cups to consumers in the U.S. and Canada through grocery stores, mass merchandisers, drugstores, and wholesale clubs, as well as through Smucker retail websites. GMCR's Keurig business unit will have the ability to market and sell Smucker coffee brands of K-Cups direct to consumers via its website: www.keurig.com.
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. will be the exclusive manufacturer of Smucker coffee brands of K-Cups using roasted and blended coffee beans provided by Smucker. A select offering of Smucker coffee brands of K-Cups are expected to be available to consumers beginning in the fall of 2010.
"Adding the power of well-known Folger's Gourmet Selections and Millstone coffee brands to the broad and growing assortment of K-Cup portion pack varieties available to consumers expands the appeal of the Keurig Single-Cup Brewing system, and will allow us to reach more consumers in more geographies," said Lawrence J. Blanford, president and CEO, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. "We look forward to Smucker's participation in aiding Keurig Single-Cup system adoption through grocery channels."
"We are excited about the opportunity for our coffee brands to reach consumers through the fastest growing single–serve coffee brewing system," said Vincent C. Byrd, President U.S. Retail Coffee, The J.M. Smucker Company "With this agreement, consumers of our coffee brands will benefit from the quality coffee experience and convenience provided by Keurig's Single-Cup Brewing technology."
