Nestle acquires Seattle’s Best Coffee from Starbucks

Starbucks sold its Seattle’s Best Coffee brand to Nestle, but the financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. With the acquisition, the Swiss food and beverage firm is aiming to boost its North American coffee business.

Nestle announced the deal on Wednesday, Oct. 19, and in a statement, it said that this transaction would further build up its Global Coffee Alliance with Starbucks. The company has been collaborating with the coffee chain since 2018, and in fact, Nestle has been distributing Starbucks’ products for several years now in more than 80 countries around the world, as per CBS News.

Since Nestle and Starbucks formed their alliance, they have successfully delivered a wide range of premium coffee products to many new markets. The entrance to markets became easy due to the alliance, and this was why the global distributions have been quick as well.

The acquisition will just make things a lot more easier for Nestle and Starbucks to do business together. They will continue to work side by side and develop innovative products for the global market and further expand their reach locally and globally.

At any rate, as it unloads its Seattle’s Best Coffee brand, Starbucks is now directing its focus on the makeover of its store locations in North America. Last month, the coffeehouse company revealed its plans to invest $450 million to transform its stores and make them more efficient.

The investment fund is set to be doled out next year. It also shared that it already spent more than $1 billion last year on workers’ pay increases and improvement of employee benefits. This was also an effort to turn away a campaign for the unionization of its stores.

The deal between Nestle and Starbucks for the acquisition of Seattle’s Best Coffee is expected to close before this year ends. The transaction is also subject to customary regulatory approval.

“Our partnership with Starbucks has confirmed Nestlé’s leading position in the dynamic and growing global coffee market,” Nestle Coffee Brands’ head, David Rennie, said in a press release. “With the well-known Seattle’s Best Coffee brand, we will continue to build our leadership in coffee by offering consumers more choices for their everyday coffee.”