Starbucks Coffee and Arla Foods launch new premium chilled coffee drinks in retail stores across the UK

Today Starbucks Coffee and Arla Foods announced the launch of Starbucks Discoveries® chilled coffees and Starbucks Doubleshot® Espresso & Milk drink across the UK. The two new ready-to-drink coffee ranges will hit the shelves in April across retail outlets and in every Starbucks coffeehouse throughout the UK from May.

Starbucks Discoveries® chilled coffee range of ready-to-drink coffees are available in three varieties – Seattle Latte, Aztlàn Mocha Latte (chocolate flavour) and Qandi™ Latte (caramel flavour) – inspired by the handcrafted lattes from Starbucks coffeehouses and flavours from around the world. In addition to the Starbucks Discoveries® chilled coffee range, Starbucks will also introduce Starbucks Doubleshot® Espresso & Milk drink, a delicious canned blend of two shots of authentic Starbucks® espresso, mellowed with milk and best served chilled. Both product ranges are made using the same high-quality arabica beans used in Starbucks coffeehouses globally and use 100 percent Fairtrade certified coffee beans and sugar. They will be available in the chilled section in major retailers and in every Starbucks coffeehouse across the UK.

Arla Foods, one of Europe’s largest dairy companies, signed a licensing agreement with Starbucks earlier this year for the manufacture, distribution and marketing of Starbucks-branded premium chilled coffee drinks, which will be produced at Arla Foods’ subsidiary Cocio Chokolademælk in Denmark. This relationship pairs Arla Foods’ manufacturing expertise in dairy beverages and its highly developed distribution network for chilled products throughout Europe and the UK with Starbucks coffee expertise and experience in the ready-to-drink coffee category globally.

“Starbucks Global Consumer Products business allows us to extend the Starbucks Experience to consumers beyond our coffeehouses,” said Rich DePencier, vice president, Starbucks Global Consumer Products International. “The success we have had bringing ready-to-drink coffees to consumers in North America and Asia demonstrates the global potential of the business and we are proud to join with Arla Foods to bring our premium ready-to-drink coffees to consumers in the UK.”

“We believe there is a real opportunity to transform the ready-to-drink coffee market with this range,” said Arla’s business unit director for commercial, Simon Stevens. “Until now there hasn’t been a big brand to drive the category forward but we are confident that with a global brand as established and trusted as Starbucks we can achieve this.”

The launch of these two ready-to-drink coffees builds on a broader approach by Starbucks in the UK to improve the quality of the coffee available to consumers, both in and out of the coffeehouse. This includes its move into the instant coffee category with the nationwide introduction of Starbucks VIA® Ready Brew last month in Starbucks coffeehouses, an extensive barista training programme, putting trained coffee masters in each store and the launch of the new Flat White coffee last year.

Darcy Willson-Rymer, Managing Director, Starbucks UK & Ireland added: “Starbucks Discoveries® chilled coffees and Starbucks Doubleshot® espresso drinks compliment our coffeehouse offerings and enable Starbucks to provide a new and refreshing high-quality coffee for people on the go, from a brand they know and trust.”

Arla Foods is supporting the national launch of Starbucks Discoveries® chilled coffees and Starbucks Doubleshot® espresso drinks with a heavy-weight advertising and marketing campaign.

Arla Foods UK plc is home to some of the UK’s leading dairy brands including Cravendale, Lurpak and Anchor. Processing approximately two billion litres of milk a year Arla continues to be one of the UK’s leading dairy companies and a supplier of fresh liquid milk and cream to the top seven retailers.

Over 2,500 daily deliveries are made directly to stores nationwide and Arla brands can be found across the dairy category. As well as the leader of the butter, spreads and margarine sector, and a major supplier of other added value products including flavoured milk and cheese, Arla continues to build working relationships with Arla Foods Milk Partnership, a unique group of dairy farmers, which supplies around 90 per cent of Arla's total milk requirements.

Behind this leading business is a team of circa 2,800 people across the UK located at our dairies, distribution centres and head office.