Starbucks and Nestlé announced that Nestlé plans to acquire the Seattle's Best Coffee brand from Starbucks. The transaction is part of Nestlé's focus on driving sustained profitable growth in the coffee category and strengthens the Global Coffee Alliance by allowing both companies to focus on their core strengths.
Seattle's Best Coffee's line of whole bean, roast and ground packaged coffee and K-Cup pods are available in a variety of roasts and flavor profiles across both foodservice and grocery channels.
In addition to Starbucks packaged coffees distributed by Nestlé under the Global Coffee Alliance, Seattle's Best Coffee joins Nestlé's roster of coffee brands in the U.S. including Nescafé, Nespresso and Blue Bottle. The addition adds depth to Nestlé's North America coffee portfolio by further expanding the company's position in the category.
"We continue to deepen our partnership with Nestlé to deliver the best of the Starbucks Experience to our customers in channels outside of our retail stores," Michael Conway, group president, Starbucks International and Channel Development, said in the announcement. "We're confident that Nestlé will continue to grow the Seattle's Best Coffee brand as we focus on our strategy to elevate the premium coffee experience for consumers through the Starbucks brand."
David Rennie, head of Nestlé Coffee Brands, added in the announcement, "Our partnership with Starbucks has confirmed Nestlé's leading position in the dynamic and growing global coffee market. With the well-known Seattle's Best Coffee brand, we will continue to build our leadership in coffee by offering consumers more choice for their everyday coffee."
Since forming the Global Coffee Alliance in 2018, Nestlé and Starbucks have brought a wide range of premium coffee products to new markets at a fast pace – including whole bean coffee, roast and ground coffee as well as Starbucks capsules for Nespresso and Nescafé Dolce Gusto proprietary systems.
Today, Nestlé distributes Starbucks consumer products and foodservice beverages across more than 80 markets outside Starbucks retail stores under the Global Coffee Alliance. The total global sales of Starbucks products distributed by Nestlé in 2021 reached CHF 3.1 billion.
Through the Global Coffee Alliance, Nestlé and Starbucks will continue to work together closely to develop new, innovative products and go-to market strategies that will amplify the reach and expand the unique experience of the Starbucks brand locally and globally.
The companies expect to close this transaction by end of 2022, subject to respective board and customary regulatory approvals. Both companies have agreed to keep the terms of this transaction confidential.
