Starbucks takes ready brew coffee into supermarkets
Starbucks Coffee Company is unveiling a major marketing push to support the launch of its Via Ready Brew coffee in Tesco stores throughout the UK.
The campaign aims to boost sales of the brand’s supermarket offering, following its introduction into Starbucks retail stores.
Starbucks says Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and other major retailers will also sell the coffee
later this year, and it has secured deals to make the ready brew coffee available in over 2,000 grocery stores across the UK.
Marketing to back the sale of the coffee in supermarkets and newsagents will include extensive in-store sampling, digital engagement and newspaper advertising. Starbucks says this is the first international grocery expansion for the product.
Ray Conway, director of global consumer products at Starbucks UK and Europe, says: “The expansion into grocery is part of the company’s strategy to sell high quality coffee beyond the coffeehouse. It represents a significant opportunity because although consumers have got used to better coffee in our stores, the instant they drink at home hasn’t significantly improved for 40 years.”
In April, Starbucks reported a 5% increase in its UK profits over the first quarter of the year, boosted by campaigns for its flat white offerings and the Via ready brew range.
