Industry Intelligence

Caribou Coffee Co., Inc. is expanding partnership with Hy-Vee, Inc., to be the preferred coffee brand for the company’s 230 grocery locations.

Billing the effort as the “total coffee solution,” Hy-Vee stores will feature more Caribou Coffee products on shelves as well as offering the beverage at barista-staffed kiosks and through foodservice/deli locations.

“We researched dozens of coffee brands,” said Greg Frampton, assistant VP of food service for West Des Moines, Iowa-based-based Hy-Vee, an employee-owned corporation operating 230 retail stores in eight Midwestern states. “Caribou Coffee’s product, personality and commitment to Rainforest Alliance certification, the most comprehensive sustainability certification available, ultimately made this an easy choice.”

With Caribou Coffee kiosks already in 18 Hy-Vee locations, the expanded partnership will add the kiosks to many new and existing Hy-Vee stores and convert the brewed coffee used in Hy-Vee’s in-store foodservice outlets to the Caribou Coffee brand.

The new Hy-Vee store in Peoria, Ill., which opened on July 13, is the first to make the full transition. The rollout across all Hy-Vee stores is expected to be complete by this fall.

Caribou Coffee operates 413 company-owned coffeehouses, and 123 franchised and licensed locations.