Six months after Starbucks introduced Starbucks VIA Ready Brew in the U.S. and Canada the Company announced today it will launch Starbucks VIA throughout Company-operated and licensed locations in the U.K. on March 8 and Japan on April 14.
Customers in the U.S. and Canada have embraced this new product offering, and have become repeat purchasers as they discover that Starbucks quality coffee can be enjoyed anytime and anywhere. Building on this momentum, the company continues to expand Starbucks VIA into grocery, mass and drug accounts in the U.S. and expects distribution to double to 30,000 locations by the end of the third quarter of Fiscal 2010.
“Starbucks VIA continues to excite customers and represents a significant opportunity for the company to expand our reach through a broadened coffee portfolio,” said Starbucks chairman, president and ceo Howard Schultz. “Consumers have quickly adopted Starbucks VIA® as their coffee while on the go. Whether it is brewed as a single cup before leaving the house, while traveling, or at the office, customers have found it is a convenient solution.”