JDE Peet’s enters $260m global licensing agreement with Caribou Coffee

A Caribou Coffee store in Battle Creek, Michigan | Photo credit: Caribou Coffee

JDE Peet’s has signed a $260m agreement to license Caribou Coffee products in the consumer
packaged goods (CPG) and foodservice channels.
 

The agreement between the two JAB Holding Company-managed brands includes the transfer of Caribou Coffee's roasting operations in Minnesota and its office coffee and foodservice contracts.

The ‘long-term strategic arrangement’ will also see JDE Peet’s supply coffee across Caribou’s 800-stores globally.  

JDE Peet’s will also manufacture, market, and sell Caribou’s CPG and foodservice coffee products outside retail locations, while also supplying coffee to Caribou stores. 

The Amsterdam-headquartered coffee group said the transaction, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2024, will provide a strong platform to expand its premium coffee portfolio in North America. 

“We are delighted with this partnership, which adds Caribou to our existing portfolio of premium brands which we distribute, including Peet’s, Stumptown, Intelligentsia and L’OR, to serve more coffee lovers in North America. Caribou is an iconic brand with outstanding facilities and we will complement its strong brand equity with JDE Peet’s’ distribution and innovation capabilities to strengthen our presence and serve more coffee lovers in the largest coffee market in the world,” said Fabien Simon, CEO of JDE Peet’s.  

In a separate press release, Minnesota-based Caribou Coffee said the ‘mutually beneficial’ deal will enable it to better focus on its ‘core’ coffeeshop network which currently comprises more than 800 outlets across 11 markets. 

“This transaction validates the success of multiple business platforms our team has built over the last several years, and JDE Peet's has the right resources, expertise and team to continue its growth trajectory. At the same time, the transaction will leave Caribou Coffee in a stronger position to do what we do best: providing guests with delicious products served alongside an award-winning customer experience,” said John Butcher, President and CEO, Caribou Coffee. 

In October 2021, Caribou Coffee launched its first domestic franchise programme in the US, a model previously only deployed in the coffee chain’s international markets. The first outlet of the franchise drive – which focuses on the roll-out of its drive-thru and convenience-led Caribou Cabins format – was opened in Ohio in November 2022. 

In April 2023, Caribou Coffee announced it had signed franchise agreements for 329 new sites with multi-unit operators across the US, where it expects to double store network in the coming years. Through an expanded development agreement with its current international franchisees, Caribou Coffee also expects similar outlet growth outside of the US. 

The Minnesota-based coffee chain currently has a strong presence in the Middle East, with 69 stores in each of Kuwait and the UAE, 50 in Turkey, 38 in Bahrain and 27 in Saudi Arabia. Caribou Coffee also operates stores in Egypt, Qatar, Oman, Morocco and Bosnia and Herzegovina.  

JAB Holding acquired the then 610-store Caribou Coffee for $340m in December 2012. In August 2021 the conglomerate joined its Caribou Coffee, Panera Bread and Einstein Bros. Bagels brands into a new fast-casual hospitality group, Panera Brands.