Starbucks, Kraft Brew Alliance
Shares of Starbucks got a jolt Monday after it agreed with Philip Morris' Krafts Foods unit to speed the penetration of Starbucks products into supermarkets across the United States.
In the agreement, Starbucks (SBUX) will blend its coffee sourcing, roasting and packaging know-how with Kraft's expertise in marketing, selling and distributing packaged foods to retail consumers.
In a statement, Starbucks said it has been testing the grocery store market during the past two years in Portland, Ore. and Chicago. Encouraged by the success, Starbucks has begun similar efforts on the West Coast."Thanks to Kraft, we are now in a position to provide Starbucks coffee through grocery stores nationally much quicker than we would have been able to do it ourselves," Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said.
Shares of Starbucks jumped 5 1/2 to 42 5/16, while shares of Philip Morris rose 1/8 to 46 1/16 in recent trading.
Written By Cecily Fraser, CBS MarketWatch