Netherlands coffee and tea group JDE Peet’s has signed a “long-term” $260m licensing agreement with US brand and coffee-shop franchise Caribou Coffee.
The deal, announced yesterday (18 January), will see JDE Peet’s acquire Caribou Coffee’s roasting operations in Minnesota and take over its foodservice and office coffee (a delivery service) contracts.
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JDE Peet’s will manufacture, market and sell Caribou Coffee’s consumer packaged goods and foodservice coffee products outside of Caribou’s coffee shops.
It will also supply Caribou Coffee’s on-premise business. The company has over 800 shops in 11 countries and is looking to double the number of sites in the US.
The Douwe Egberts brand owner said the deal allowed it to “expand its premium coffee portfolio in North America”.
JDE Peet’s CEO Fabien Simon said: “We are delighted with this partnership, which adds Caribou to our existing portfolio of premium brands which we distribute, including Peet’s, Stumptown, Intelligentsia and L’Or, to serve more coffee lovers in North America.
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By GlobalData“Caribou is an iconic brand with outstanding facilities and we will complement its strong brand equity with JDE Peet’s’ distribution and innovation capabilities to strengthen our presence and serve more coffee lovers in the largest coffee market in the world.
“We wholeheartedly welcome a new team of talented employees to the JDE Peet’s family and look forward to integrating their expertise and insights into our operations.
“We will work closely with the Caribou team on the ongoing development of Caribou-branded products, as Caribou continues to expand its operations in the United States and abroad.”
Caribou Coffee said the deal would allow it to focus on its “core” coffeehouse business.
President and CEO John Butcher said: “This transaction validates the success of multiple business platforms our team has built over the last several years, and JDE Peet’s has the right resources, expertise and team to continue its growth trajectory.”
The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of this year, subject to approvals.
Last year, JDE Peet’s snapped up the coffee and tea business of Brazil’s JAV Group.
The Amsterdam-listed company said at the time the acquisition would “complement JDE Peet’s’ existing portfolio of brands” which are predominantly sold in the southern regions of Brazil.
Simon said: “Over the last three years [since going public], we have been focused on transforming JDE Peet’s into a faster growing, correctly invested and more sustainable company,” he said. “We are now ready to take the next step and continue our disciplined path of geographical expansion and diversification.”
