Starbucks May Sign Kraft to Distribute Seattle's Best Coffee

CHICAGO - Starbucks Corp. is considering a distribution deal with Northfield, Ill.-based Kraft Foods, Inc., under which the latter company would distribute Seattle's Best Coffee to grocery stores nationwide, Reuters reports.

The report quoted a Kraft saleswoman at the FMI show in Chicago and provided no financial details.

Kraft already distributes Starbucks to 20,000 American supermarkets. Seattle-based Starbucks bought the Seattle Coffee Co., which includes the Seattle's Best and Torrefazione Italia Coffee brands, from Atlanta-based AFC Enterprises, Inc. in July. In October 2002 international food company Sodexho awarded AFC a master license to provide specialty coffee beverages to 6,000 food service locations across the United States. Prior to that deal, Seattle Coffee had almost 12,000 wholesale and grocery distribution locations.
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