Starbucks Acquires Evolution Fresh Inc for $30 Million
In an attempt to expand their offerings beyond coffee and tea, Starbucks has purchased San Bernardino, CA based Evolution Fresh Inc.
The purchase price was $30 million. Starbucks plans to open a new chain of wellness stores that will focus on juices and simple foods. “We are not just acquiring a juice company,” said Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz. “We are using this acquisition to position ourselves, in a broad way, to build a multibillion health and wellness business over time.”
Starbucks has not released a detailed plan at this time as to how many stores they plan to open and exactly when and where they plan to roll the first one out.
Starbucks Sued Over Tip Jar
According to the St. Louis Post Dispatch, Starbucks has been sued by a Missouri family after their loved one tried to thwart a tip jar robbery and ended up dead.
Roger Kreutz was ordering coffee in a Crestwood Starbucks on March 3rd, 2008 when Aaron Poisson, who was 19 years old, grabbed the tip jar from the counter and ran. Kreutz chased him to his car where a physical altercation ensued. Poisson got in his car and stuck Kreutz with the vehicle while trying to make his escape. Kreutz later died from his injuries.
Poisson, of Cumming, Ga., was later arrested in St. Louis, and pleaded guilty of involuntary manslaughter. He was sentenced to one year in prison,the St. Louis Post Dispatch reported.
Kreutz’ family has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Starbucks, blaming them for inviting criminal activity by leaving tip jars near customers. According to the lawsuit, obtained by the St. Louis Post Dispatch, Starbucks “did not employ security to prevent the perpetration of such crimes” and that it “invited the act of perpetration of said crime” by having a tip jar.
Starbucks did not comment to the Dispatch regarding the lawsuit.
Starbucks’ 40th Anniversary Celebration = $40 Giveaways!!!
Starbucks is celebrating 40 years in the coffee business. In honor of their 40th year they are rewarding their customers with $40 giveaways on March 16th!!! Hooray!!
The coffee giant is giving away 500 gift cards in the amount of $40 each to 500 lucky coffee lovers. That’s $20,000 worth of free coffee! In order to participate in this giveaway you must go to Foursquare.com and check into the Starbuck’s location. You can also enter by sending an e-mail to foursquare@starbucks.com with the subject line “Starbucks”.
Good luck my friends!!
KIND Healthy Snacks Adds Two New Flavors
KIND Healthy Snacks (KIND) introduces two new flavors at Starbucks, Apple Cinnamon Nut + Fiber and Blueberry Vanilla & Cashew.
KIND sent me a few of these to try, after reading the label and seeing how healthy they were, I was skeptical. But after I had one, I was amazed at how good they were.
These healthy bars are all natural, low in sodium, gluten free, wheat free, dairy free and non GMO. (almost too healthy)
KIND says be kind to your body, which is great, but the taste is good enough that I’d eat it if it wasn’t healthy. When you open the package you can actually see what type of fruit and nuts you are about to eat.
These two new flavors are only available at Starbucks, but you can check out some of their other offerings online @ http://www.kindsnacks.com
Is Starbucks Trenta Size Making Us Fat And Do We Really Care?
As most of you know, Starbucks has released a new size of coffee, the Trenta, which bosts 916ml of liquid bliss, available in all markets on May 3rd. Apparently it has been a success in the test markets, despite the large calorie punch that it can pack on the waistline.
This is causing some stir given the obesity crisis that now faces the United States. The average human stomach cannot hold 916ml. The average capacity is only 900ml. Given that number, its best to pass up the pastry or risk exploding, or at least being in desperate discomfort, neither of which I am a fan of. I love coffee, don’t get me wrong, but this is one big cup of Joe. It puts it into prospective when you consider that the average bottle of wine is 750ml. Now you see what I mean.
Given the sugar content of some of the drinks, this is likely to send us into a diabetic coma. Although I know it cannot be “good” for me, I will most likely drink it anyway because, lets face it, we here at CoffeeSage like our coffee, A LOT! I’ll just try to sip it over a long period of time and do my best to pace myself. Perhaps this new super-sized marvel will become one of those “drink/food challenges”. I might just be able to win that competition!
Tis’ the Season
Tis’ the season for flavored coffee!!!! This year, more regional and grocery store brands are participating with holiday blends of their own according to Bloomberg Business Week reports.
Starbucks has Peppermint Mocha Latte, Gingerbread Latte and Eggnog Latte. They also carry a lower-calorie version of the Peppermint Mocha Latte in select markets.
Dunkin’ Donuts has added a low-cal version of its gingerbread-flavored drip coffee to its holiday lineup.
Caribou Coffee has Fa La Latte and Ho Ho Mint Mocha.
Maxwell House is offering a Peppermint Mocha Latte mix.
Get your holiday flavor on!
Starbucks and Yahoo Team Up to Offer In Store E-Books and Movies
Starbucks has teamed up with Yahoo to offer their customers e-books and movies in an attempt to encourage them to “stay a while” and purchase more items at Starbucks.
Starbucks, who traditionally charged for wireless internet, began their free wireless internet campaign in July of this year. Now when you access Starbucks’ wireless service, you will be welcomed to watch moves, read books or enjoy access to some paid sites from their partners, some of which include The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The New York Times, Apple’s iTunes, local news provider Patch, and Zagat.
If you want to read the books at home, you may purchase them through the internet service. Starbucks makes a small profit from the purchase.
The e-books on the network are being offered through the Bookish Reading Club, a partnership with publishers, including Harper Collins, Hachette, Penguin, and Simon & Schuster.
Some books will be offered as excerpts only – but the customer will have the option of buying the whole book if interested. Some material will be made available on the network before its release date. One of the first such offerings is a preview of Anita Shreve’s upcoming novel “Rescue.”
Starbucks Plans Selective Price Increase
Starbucks has made the decision to raise the price on some of its drinks after its announcement that it would absorb the rising cost of coffee. The decision is due to the price of green Arabica coffee. They said Wednesday that due to the near 13 year high on the green beans along with the rise in the cost of dairy, sugar and cocoa, they must raise the price on larger sizes and hard to make drinks.
“Over the last six months, a highly speculative green coffee market and dramatically increased commodity costs have completely altered the economic and financial picture of many players in the coffee industry,” said Starbucks Chief Executive Howard Schultz, in a statement.
The prices have been rising from the roasters for months and Starbucks has resisted changing its prices up until now, but “the extreme nature of the cost increase has made it untenable for us to continue to do so.”
Coffee Prices Soar!
Coffee prices have risen about 43% in the last three months. This is a 13 year high for the delectable bean.
Coffee for December delivery settled up 2.25 cents at $1.9455 a pound Wednesday after hitting $1.9865 per pound earlier in the day. Trading volume was light, which can exaggerate price movements, according to the Associated Press.
Many people are finding a retail price increase due to the soaring prices of coffee. Some of the brands that have reflected the increase in their retail pricing are owned by the JM Smucker Company including Millstone, Foldgers, Foldgers Gourmet Selections and Dunkin’ Donuts. K-Cup Portion Packs, sold by Green Mountain Coffee Roasters for the Keurig Single-Cup brewing system, are set to rise in price by 10% to 15% next month.
Deb Trevino, spokesperson for Starbucks, insists that their prices will not be affected by the rising price of coffee. The company intends to absorb the extra cost, instead of passing it on to the consumer.
This week’s rally appears to be largely due to speculative trading because fears have eased about weather and supply issues, said Spencer Patton, founder and chief investment officer for hedge fund Steel Vine Investments LLC.
Seattle’s Best Coffee Contest: FREE TRIP TO SEATTLE
Coffeesage.com readers have been invited to participate in a Seattle’s Best Coffee contest. First prize is an all expenses paid trip to the coffee capital of the US……….. Seattle!!!!
Seattle’s Best is celebrating their fan’s love of great coffee. They are now looking for their BIGGEST fan to join them for a first class coffee lover’s experience in Seattle. You can compete to win the free trip that will be the “ultimate coffee immersion” and a chance to become a Seattle’s Best Coffee Ambassador. The Ambassadors get the “low-down” on coffee news, prizes and other free stuff.
The contest runs through September 3rd. To enter, visit the Seattle’s Best Coffee Facebook fan-page and tell them why Seattle’s Best Coffee is the “bright spot in your day”.
Good luck and may the coffee be with you!!!
Starbucks Relaunches Seattle’s Best Brand
Starbucks has lost profit in these hard economic times due to cost competitors like McDonald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts. They have closed 600 stores in the past two years. They are now turning to Seattle’s Best, a company Starbucks acquired in 2003 to boost their revenue.
Starbucks is expanding the Seattle’s Best brand to more than 30,000 locations by September of this year. They currently sale the brand in approximately 3,000 locations. Seattle’s Best will be available at Burger King, Subway, AMC movie theaters, Alaskan Airlines, Border’s Bookstore, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, convenience stores, supermarkets, kiosks and vending machines, just to name a few.
Starbucks will also be giving Seattle’s Best a new logo and slogan. The logo will retain the red color to ensure some continuity for consumers. The slogan will be “Great Coffee Everywhere”.
To celebrate the Seattle’s Best relaunch, Starbucks sent a team of “red-capped invaders” to scale the Starbucks headquarters building in Seattle and “stealthily replace the famous ‘siren’ atop the clock tower with the new Seattle’s Best Coffee logo.”
Starbucks’ press team said the intention was simple: “To put Seattle’s Best on the map as the universal symbol for great coffee.” As symbolic gestures go, it doesn’t get much clearer than that.
Starbucks feels that the Seattle’s Best brand will put them on a more even footing with the lower priced coffee competitors like McDonald’s.
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