The coffee of Lavazza becomes stars and stripes. The leader of the Italian espresso has reached a multi-year agreement with the American one Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) to invest 105 million dollars.
The company will supply the US coffee giant with the capsules for the K-Cup, the system that also dispenses filter coffee, the most consumed in the American market, with an estimated presence of around 20 million families.
“We are excited to develop our successful partnership and to exploit a unique technology, such as that of Green Mountain, to bring the quality of our blends to coffee connoisseurs all over the world – comments Lavazza CEO Antonio Baravalle -. A fundamental step to strengthen our brand on the American market".
"We are expanding our collaboration with Italy's leading coffee brand - says Green Mountain president and CEO Brian P. Kelley - to offer consumers the authentic flavors of Italian coffee at the touch of a button".
The alliance between Lavazza and Gmcr is thus strengthened also because the Turin company will invest a further 105 million dollars, confirming its interest in the American market. “In a moment of crisis in which few companies invest – explains Baravalle – we have decided to do so with the aim of strengthening our presence in the USA”.
With the operation, completely self-financed with cash capital, Lavazza also purchased 1 shares of Green Mountain. A move that confirms the Turin company's interest in the US market. Along with the decision to sponsor the exhibition on Futurism at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, which opened today. “The American coffee market is worth five times the Italian one and grows by 400-3% every year – observes Baravalle -. For us, this is the most important market in which to invest and in which we intend to increase our size in the coming years".
Present in more than 90 countries, today Lavazza exports 46% of its production. “Our goal – he underlines – is to reach 70% through partnership operations like this American one”.
