Canadian coffee lovers can now sip their favorite ‘Irresistibles’ brands from the K-cup portion packs. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (GMCR), the owner of Keurig brewer, has entered into an agreement with Canada-based Metro Inc. (MRU.TO) under which it got the exclusive right to provide Metro’s Irresistibles brand in K-Cups.
The Keurig business unit of Green Mountain is a pioneer and a leading manufacturer of gourmet single-cup brewing systems. It sells beverages produced by other business units of the company through At Home and Away From Home channels. Green Mountain sells K-Cups under different brands including Caribou Coffee, Gloria Jean’s and Van Houtte.
The pact will strengthen Green Mountain’s goal of sustaining its dominance in the single-serve brewing world even after the expiry of the K-cups patents in Sep 2012.
Made from 100% Arabica coffee, Metro’s Irresistibles K-Cupscoffee will be available in Metro food store network in Quebec and Ontario shortly. The coffee, available in 12-count boxes, come in three flavors — Le Café Colombian Blend (a medium roast coffee), Le Café Metropolitan Blend (a dark roast coffee) and Le Café Good Morning Blend (a light roast coffee).
The Irresistibles K-cups carry Keurig Brewed Seal of Quality along with the blue label with the distinctive blue and yellow logo on them. The Irresistibles K-cups bolsters GMCR Canada’s brand presence in Metro stores which already shelve various K-cup products like Van Houtte, Timothy’s World Coffee, Barista Prima Coffeehouse, Green Mountain Coffee, Tully’s and Café Escapes.
The tie-up will benefit Metro, by boosting beverage sales among the Keurig fans, as the package of refreshing coffee combined with the convenience of Keurig brewer is expected to be more popular.
In order to popularize the single-cup brewing system, Green Mountain has entered into several strategic agreements with companies like Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc. (DNKN), Unilever Plc. (UL) and Starbucks Corporation (SBUX) to distribute their brands through GMCR’s K-Cups.
Through these agreements, Green Mountain is aligning with the beverage brands to offer a range of products as per consumer choices and taste profiles in Keurig Single-Cup Brewing system.
GreenMountain currently carries a Zacks Rank #1(Strong Buy).
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