Swiss food & beverage giant Nestle will reportedly start selling Starbucks labelled coffee at grocery stores and online in Asia, Latin America, and Europe starting this month. The move significantly highlights Nestle’s efforts to gain an edge over rival players including JAB.
According to sources familiar with the matter, following a USD 7.15 billion cash deal of 2018 to sell the US chain’s teas and coffees, Nestle will start selling Starbucks labeled roast and ground coffee, coffee beans, and ground coffee, as well as single-serve capsules for its Nescafe Dolce Gusto and Nespresso coffee makers. They further claim that these will be available at grocery stores & online in 14 markets, including Brazil, China, Chile, Belgium, the Netherlands, Mexico, Spain, South Korea, and Britain with more markets poised to follow later this year.
Patrice Bula, Executive VP and head of strategic business units, sales, marketing and Nespressos was quoted saying that the team is confident of accelerating Nestle’s strong U.S. based coffee business and sees robust growth potential in markets such as China and India.
For the record, Starbucks, the world’s largest coffee chain, has been now selling its coffee for use at home, that includes instant or ground versions, a variety of roasts in whole beans, as well as coffee pods for its JAB’s Keurig K-Cup system and Verismo brewers across North America for several years.
If industry experts are to be believed, Nestle is building on its existing product portfolio and taking it to new markets under the last years deal which will allow Starbucks to direct its focus on its cafes, while Nestle, with its retail know-how, is expected to bring Starbucks coffee to grocery shelves across the globe.
Under 2018’s deal, Starbucks is expected to have its out-of-home business managed by Nestle and will continue to sell its ready-to-drink products directly. Starbucks for the record is expanding rapidly in China and has already ventured into the coffee-obsessed country Italy in September.
