P&G's next frontier

"Whatever its current revenues, P&G's commercial sales business is playing in a space that could make it an important, if small, cog in the company's overall growth strategy."

The Cincinnati Enquirer

Gee Whiz! The Starbucks "Cheer Chain Phenomenon" Might Be A Lame PR Stunt

"Some cynical people, (not us, mind you) are starting to suspect that the news stories popping up all over the U.S. about Starbucks 'cheer chains' might be planted by Starbuck's PR team."

The Consumerist

Starbucks And Coinstar Team Up On Seattle’s Best Coffee Kiosk

"Based on a picture included in this report, the automated kiosk is designed for an in-store application. It includes cups, stirrers and condiments..."

AM Online

Venti Capitalists

"Clark is frank about his bias: 'Starbucks diminishes the world’s diversity every time it builds a new cafe, and I can’t help but feel troubled by this.' But when Clark looks at whether the towering Mount St. Helens that is Starbucks, with its volcanic eruptions of store openings, has buried the competition, he has the grace — not given to every pundit — to look at what he’s actually seeing. Clark informs us that in 1989 there were 585 coffee houses in America. Now there are more than 24,000. Fifty-seven percent of these are what Clark calls 'mom and pops.' 'Paradoxically,' he writes, 'the surest way to boost sales at your mom-and-pop cafe may be to have a Starbucks move in next door.'"

New York Times

Coffee houses, still growing fast, want the bigger bucks in supermarkets

“It would be wise for any brand in the gourmet business to move into the supermarket aisles, just because of the numbers,” said Harry Balzer, vice president of NPD Group Inc., a market research firm. “You want to serve the inventory needs of 115 million homes, as opposed to the 28,000 or 30,000 or even 500,000 restaurants there are. The business is in the home.”

Medill Reports

Illy in a Box

"With the push of a button, the house opens in 90 seconds like a flower and transforms from a compact container into a fully furnished and functional space with a kitchen, dining room, bathroom, bedroom, living room and library. All materials used in the Biennale house were recyclable or recycled."

Will Work for Food

March of the Lattes

Read a review of the SBUX work here:
Ad Age

Bear Hug

Dunkin’ sells sandwich shop chain

"Canton-based Dunkin’ Brands put the sandwich shop chain on the market in October 2006, saying it wanted to concentrate on running its Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins brands. The divestiture comes as Dunkin’ Donuts expands its own lunch menu with new items such as personal pizzas and sandwiches."

The Patriot Ledger

Juan Valdez blazes fresh trails

"Venerable Juan Valdez, one of the most successful emblems of modern advertising, is getting a makeover. Whereas the old Juan would stroll into mom's kitchen and enjoy a cup of Folgers while gently plugging 100 percent cafe de Colombia, 21st Century Juan now has his own line of beans that he's brewing at trendy coffee houses."

Chicago Tribune

TASSIMO and Starbucks Send a Wake-Up Call to the Single-Serve Category

TASSIMO has added four Starbucks(R) coffee varieties to its collection: Breakfast Blend, House Blend, Caffe Verona(R) and Africa Kitamu(TM).

PR Newswire

NEW from Fresh & Easy

New coffee packaging for the new Tesco entry into the US grocery category. Nice use of structure to communicate form:

- Beans in burlap sacks
- Grounds in paper bags

Folgers Wants to Send You Home for the Holidays

www.folgers.com

Coffee Clash at McDonald's

"McDonald's executives came out swinging when they announced their assault on the comfy world of coffee shops.

"After the success of its upgraded drip coffee -- which even managed to snag a thumbs-up from testers at Consumer Reports earlier this year -- the fast-food chain known for supersize meals is gearing up for a massive expansion into the world of lattes."

MSN Moneycentral

Meet the Woman Who Dictates the Taste of Coffee

"Folgers has 10 different tasters who make sure that every cup of coffee tastes exactly the same, but each of those tasters experiences coffee in a personalized way. That could create a lack of coffee consistency, which would be a major problem for Folgers.

That's where Tracy May Adair comes in."

NPR

CRANK DAT FOLGER BOY

Fresh, super and organic top trends for 2008

The top 10 trends to watch for next year include fresh and organic, superfruits, bold flavors, and probiotics beyond yogurts, according to Datamonitor's Productscan database.

foodnavigator-usa.com

Revival from the grounds up

"Kraft has reformulated Maxwell House using Arabica beans, a costlier variety that is the mainstay of premium coffee. And it is launching the largest marketing campaign in years for the coffee brand, one which will include a giveaway of the new brew on Thanksgiving Day. Kraft will give samples of Maxwell House to drivers on certain tollways and pay their tolls."

Chicago Tribune