Nestlé said the Seattle's Best Coffee acquisition ‘adds depth’ to the company’s North American coffee portfolio | Photo credit: ​Nestlé

Swiss food and beverage giant Nestlé has announced that it will acquire the Seattle’s Best Coffee brand from US coffee chain Starbucks for an undisclosed sum.
 

Nestlé and Starbucks said the transaction, which is expected to finalise before the end of the year, strengthens their Global Coffee Alliance partnership.  

The two companies formed the Global Coffee Alliance in May 2018 in a deal worth $7.1bn, with the Swiss company distributing Starbucks-branded coffee products across more than 80 markets outside of Starbucks’ retail stores. 

Nestlé said the Seattle's Best Coffee acquisition ‘adds depth’ to the company’s North American coffee portfolio, where it currently distributes Starbucks, Nescafé, Nespresso and Blue Bottle Coffee packaged retail products. 

“Our partnership with Starbucks has confirmed Nestlé’s leading position in the dynamic and growing global coffee market. With the well-known Seattle’s Best Coffee brand, we will continue to build our leadership in coffee by offering consumers more choice for their everyday coffee,” said David Rennie, Head of Nestlé Coffee Brands. 

Seattle's Best Coffee's product range includes wholebean, roast and ground packaged coffee, as well as K-Cup pods. The company has been a subsidiary of Seattle-based Starbucks since July 2003. 

“We continue to deepen our partnership with Nestlé to deliver the best of the Starbucks experience to our customers in channels outside of our retail stores. We’re confident that Nestlé will continue to grow the Seattle’s Best Coffee brand as we focus on our strategy to elevate the premium coffee experience for consumers through the Starbucks brand,” added Michael Conway, Group President, Starbucks International and Channel Development. 

Coffee products contributed more than $25bn, or approximately 27%, of Nestlé’s sales in 2021.  

In July 2022, the business introduced the Starbucks At Home instant coffee range and the We Proudly Serve Starbucks Coffee programme in Vietnam, adding to the distribution of Starbucks premium instant coffee in China, Japan, Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific.