FAIRFIELD, Conn. (February 9, 2009)– Retail grocers have reason to celebrate! Bigelow® Tea (www.bigelowtea.com) – the number one specialty tea manufacturer in the United States – has joined forces with Van Houtte, the number one gourmet coffee brand in Canada, to develop the U.S. K-Cup market in a big way.
The partnership began about 8 years ago when Van Houtte provided sales and distribution to help Bigelow Tea penetrate the Québec Food Service market. Following that success, Bigelow and Van Houtte formed an alliance to produce Bigelow Tea K-Cups. In the past four years, Bigelow’s K-Cup business has grown over 45% per year.
Now, Bigelow Tea and Van Houtte are launching a national K-Cup campaign in the currently under-developed U.S. Retail Grocery channel. K-Cups fit the increasingly popular Keurig brewing systems, for an at home café experience. The K-Cup franchise is growing because consumers love the rich, fresh-brewed flavor it delivers with unique single-serve convenience … enhancing the superb flavor profiles of Bigelow Tea and Van Houtte coffee blends.
3 million cups a day… one cup at a time
Van Houtte is one of North America’s leading gourmet coffee companies involved in nearly every aspect of the industry. They select, buy, roast and package their own coffees, serving a total of three million cups daily to retail, office, café and online customers. They are also a world leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of state-of-the-art, single-cup brewing equipment and related products.
Their Keurig brewing systems utilize single-portion K-Cups. Inside each K-Cup is a pure paper filter with the ideal grind and measure of a Van Houtte gourmet coffee or Bigelow specialty tea. Air-tight seals keep light and moisture out, freshness and aroma in, and deliver a single, perfectly brewed cup every time.
An exciting opportunity
Why the strong K-Cups initiative now? “The K-Cup business is one of the fastest growing segments in the United States,” says Cindi Bigelow, President of the family owned Bigelow Tea company. “It makes sense for Bigelow, the tea category leader, to expand on the opportunities of this popular brewing system. Now American tea drinkers who like instant-brew convenience don’t have to settle for anything less than Bigelow flavor.”
Just how popular are K-Cups? Amazon alone sells over 100 million cups per year. Bigelow and Van Houtte plan to utilize their leadership roles to capitalize on this trend. “We’ve already seen in Canada how well our partnership with Van Houtte works,” says Ms. Bigelow. “Together, we can help U.S. retail grocers capture their share of the K-Cup market.”
Synergy and commitment
The partnership works on several levels. Bigelow is the leading specialty tea brand in the US and Van Houtte is the leading gourmet coffee brand in Canada. Both companies have longstanding relationships with suppliers as well as quality checks and customized procedures in place to ensure flavor consistency cup to cup. And both have strong consumer followings, with a combined 140 years expertise in delivering fine tea and coffee products.
What’s more, “We both bring a real passion to the business,” says Cindi Bigelow. “We’re one-hundred-percent focused on producing great teas and coffees and we both use only the best, top grade ingredients. Flavor quality is our number one priority.”
Flavorful variety
The Bigelow K-Cups include these consumer favorites:
- English Breakfast
- Green Tea
- Earl Grey
- Cozy Chamomile®
- Mint Medley®
- Green Tea with Pomegranate
The Van Houtte offerings include single origin, flavored, fair trade, gourmet and decaffeinated coffees as well as a variety pack. Together, the two brands serve the full spectrum of consumers’ tea and coffee preferences in the K-Cup format.
Packaging is designed to create consumer appeal and win quick brand recognition.
Special stand-alone displays feature the proven top-selling items, making it easy for the grocery channel to order, stock and profit from the new K-Cup program.
Bigelow and Van Houtte offer real selling strength in this explosive growth category. They’ll bring new profits to the retail grocery channel, while bringing rich flavor and convenience to the American home brewing experience
About Bigelow Tea Company
100 % family owned Fairfield, Conn.-based Bigelow Tea pioneered the specialty tea category more than 60 years ago. Bigelow takes pride in its heritage and successful growth from a one-product, entrepreneurial venture into America’s leading specialty tea company. The Bigelow Tea line includes more than 80 varieties of flavored, traditional, green, organic , herbal, decaffeinated teas and iced teas– including America’s number one specialty tea flavor, “Constant Comment®”.
In 2003, the company purchased and restored the Charleston Tea Plantation. Based on Wadmalaw Island just south of Charleston, South Carolina, the only tea plantation in America cultivates several hundred thousand tea bushes that are descendants of bushes brought from China during the 1800’s. The Charleston Tea Plantation has become a “must see” destination for tea lovers and tourists alike who visit the area from around the world and appreciate information and education about tea in addition to enjoying American Classic Tea and products which are produced from the tea grown on the premises
Bigelow Tea products are available nationwide including grocery, supercenters mass merchandisers and health stores. Every variety can be found on the company website, (www.bigelowtea.com), along with an appealing selection of tea chests, tea accessories and other gift items. Tea lovers and enthusiasts will also enjoy interesting and entertaining related stories and facts by visiting the company’s blog (http://www.bigelowteablog.com).
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PRESS CONTACT INFO:
Elizabeth April-Fritz
Bigelow Tea
203-334-1212
eafritz@rcbigelow.com
Julie Dolan
Creative Concepts
203.259.4202
jdolan@creative-conceptsllc.com
