Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT) announced Thursday the launch of Swedish coffee brand Gevalia in August, replacing Starbucks which Kraft lost in March.
Kraft said Gevalia would be available for purchase in supermarkets, mass merchandisers and other retail outlets across the U.S. beginning in August.
Kraft plans to aggressively support the Gevalia retail expansion in August. The newly available Gevalia selections include: Traditional Roast, Traditional Roast Whole Bean, House Blend and House Blend Decaf.
Kraft's global coffee business includes Carte Noire in France and Jacobs in Germany.
Gevalia which is a $400 million global brand has a following in the U.S. where it has been available online.
A tenth of Kraft's $5 billion global coffee business was made up by Starbucks Corp (SBUX) which left the Kraft portfolio on March 1. Starbucks, the world's biggest coffee shop operator, has since entered into a distribution deal with Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (GMCR).
In February, Kraft's request for a preliminary injunction against Starbucks was denied by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which upheld a lower court's ruling. An arbitration process is already underway and would continue over the next several months.
Kraft had sued Starbucks in December to prevent it from walking out on the contract until the resolution of the dispute. However, Starbucks claimed loss of market share and poor performance by Kraft.
The two companies had contracted in 1998 with the dispute coming into the open in November. Kraft had reportedly claimed a break-up fee of $1 billion
Kraft will announce its results for the first quarter on May 5.
KFT closed Thursday's regular trading at $32.95, up $0.55 or 1.70%, on the NYSE.
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