James Hoffmann said that Cometeer ‘makes enjoying a great cup as effortless as pouring a glass of your favourite wine’ | Photo credit: Cometeer

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Square Mile becomes first international roastery in Cometeer’s subscription 

US frozen coffee capsule brand Cometeer has added London-based Square Mile Coffee as its latest subscription partner and first roaster from outside of the US. The flash-frozen specialty capsule concept received $30m Series B funding in October 2021 to introduce more roasting partners. 

James Hoffmann, co-founder of Square Mile Coffee, said that coffee brewing with Cometeer "makes enjoying a great cup as effortless as pouring a glass of your favourite wine". 

Café Coffee Day founder V.G Siddhartha biopic in the works 

Indian production companies T-Series and Almighty Motion Picture have acquired adaptation rights of a book detailing the rise and sudden death of Café Coffee Day founder V.G Siddhartha. Founded in 1996, Café Coffee Day operated more than 1,752 outlets across some 243 cities in India at the start of 2019 before heavily shrinking its footprint following the apparent suicide of Siddhartha in the same year. Café Coffee Day now operates 495 stores in India and remains the country's largest coffee chain.

Almighty Motion Picture’s Producer Prabhleen Kaur Sandhu said that the biopic would share "unknown facets of this great entrepreneur’s life". 

Starbucks new Heritage Market to represent company’s past, present and future 

Starbucks has announced the creation of a Heritage Market comprising three Starbucks locations in Seattle that the coffee chain says best represent its ‘historic past, present, and re-imagined future’. The concept forms part of the global coffee chain's ‘Starbucks Experience’ with an enhanced focus on coffee, craft and the local community. The three stores involved include 1912 Pike Place, Starbucks' original store, the 1st & Pike Starbucks store, which opened at the entrance to Seattle’s iconic Pike Place Market in 2009, and Starbucks Pickup, a new collection concept outlet at the corner of 1st & University, designed for customers on-the-go who pay in the Starbucks app. 

Alpro launches new ‘This is Not M*lk’ campaign  

Alpro has launched a new multi-million-pound marketing campaign in the UK to promote This Is Not M*lk, its new oat-based drink. The Belgian plant-based food and beverage brand is undertaking a month-long sampling trial via a ‘This is Not a M*lk Float’, which will interact with 70,000 consumers across multiple high-footfall sites across London and Birmingham. A further 40,000 samples will be distributed straight to the homes of potential shoppers, in partnership with UK recipe box provider Hello Fresh. 

Duck Donuts continues international growth with Canada debut

Pennsylvania-based Duck Donuts has continued its international outlet growth with the opening of its first Canadian location in Ontario. Duck Donuts currently operates more than 100 stores across 22 US states and Puerto Rico, with the Canada franchise agreement following the recent opening of an outlet in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and the planned summer opening of two locations in Egypt. The food and beverage chain faces strong competition in Canada, where Tim Hortons operates more than 3,500 stores, nearly half of which are in Ontario.