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News
Starbucks Agrees to Acquire Premium Specialty Tea Retailer Teavana
Starbucks Coffee Co. has agreed to acquire Teavana Holdings Inc. – a specialty retailer offering more than 100 varieties of premium loose-leaf teas, authentic artisanal teawares and other tea-related merchandise – for $620 million cash.Powered by Starbucks’ existing infrastructure, the coffee retailer said it plans to continue to grow and extend Teavana’s already-successful 300 mall-based stores, as well as add a high-profile neighborhood store concept that will accelerate Teavana’s domestic and global footprint.“We believe the tea category is ripe for reinvention and rapid growth. The Teavana acquisition now positions us to disrupt and lead, just as we did with espresso ... |
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Green Mountain Unveils Keurig Rivo Cappuccino Maker
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR), in partnership with Luigi Lavazza SpA, introduced the Keurig Rivo Cappuccino and Latte System, which the companies say combines the legendary simplicity of Keurig single-cup technology with the authenticity of Italy’s favorite coffee.The Rivo System brews authentic espresso-based beverages and froths any type of fresh milk directly from the refrigerator. Just in time for the holiday season, the Rivo System will be sold exclusively at select Bloomingdale’s locations beginning in mid-November and is expected to become more widely available, including on Keurig’s website, by spring of next year.GMCR’s new system will compete head-to-head with Starbucks’ ... |
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GLM Acquires E-Commerce Events From Internet Retailer Publisher VWM
GLM has acquired the events group of Vertical Web Media (VWM), including Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition (IRCE), the leading e-commerce event in the United States, and two allied events: Internet Retailer Mobile Marketing & Commerce Forum and Internet Retailer Web Design and Usability Conference. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.The acquisition creates a strategic partnership between the two companies, whereby the existing Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition sales, marketing and operations team will remain with the events group and operate as an independent division of GLM, one of the country’s largest operators of trade shows for the retailing ... |
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Primo Water and Cuisinart to Jointly Market Sparkling Beverage Appliances and Consumables
Primo Water Corp., provider of multi-gallon purified bottled water and related products, and kitchen electrics and cookware maker Cuisinart have signed a three-year sales, distribution and licensing agreement. Under terms of the agreement, Cuisinart will market and sell Primo Water’s existing line of sparkling beverage appliances and related consumables in North America, and Primo will supply CO2 cylinders for Cuisinart’s new proprietary line of sparkling-beverage-makers.Primo Water’s beverage-maker line consists of the Flavorstation and Liberty models, both of which fall under the marketing and sales terms of the new agreement. Beginning this month, Cuisinart will debut its own sparkling-beverage-makers, which will ... |
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Fairway Committed to Rebuilding Damaged Brooklyn Site
Fairway Market is committed to rebuilding the iconic grocery chain’s store in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn that was heavily damaged by Hurricane Sandy, after having worked to reopen its other 10 stores. Herb Ruetsch, chief executive officer of Fairway Market, said, “Hurricane Sandy has profoundly impacted each and every one of us. Most notably, our Red Hook store sustained a significant amount of damage that necessitated a temporary closure of the location.” He said the company was “100 percent committed to reopening the store.” Within days after Sandy struck, Fairway Market began donating truckloads of food, water and ... |
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Williams-Sonoma Debuts First Quebec Store
Williams-Sonoma opened its first store in Quebec, Canada, on Nov. 3. Located at Carrefour Laval in Laval, Quebec, the new store marks Williams-Sonoma’s eighth location in Canada, and will be the first to showcase a new, interactive store design. “I am thrilled to continue our expansion in Canada by opening our first store in Quebec,” said Laura Alber, president and chief executive officer at Williams-Sonoma. “We’re excited that the Williams-Sonoma brand will pave the way in Quebec, where we look forward to joining such a vibrant culinary community.” The new store design includes interactive features that will engage customers’ sense ... |
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Chef Curtis Stone Visits Southern Season
Southern Season in Chapel Hill, N.C., will play host to Curtis Stone, award-winning chef, best-selling author, TV personality and entrepreneur during a special appearance, cooking demonstration and product signing at the store Nov. 15. The host of “Top Chef Masters,” Stone also headlined Bravo TV’s “Around the World in 80 Plates.” A gregarious host and entertaining guest, Stone is a familiar face on dozens of shows, including “The Today Show,” “Ellen,” “Conan,” “Oprah” and many more. A regular headliner at global food shows, Stone recently debuted his own product line, Kitchen Solutions. “We are delighted to welcome Curtis Stone to ... |
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Smokin’ Texas Gourmet Scores Five Scovies
Smokin’ Texas Gourmet’s popular line of Texas barbecue sauce, artisanal seasonings and condiments has won five 2013 Scovie Awards, including honors for its gourmet products and website. Now in its 17th year, the Scovie Awards are the world’s largest professional competition for fiery foods and barbecue products. Competition for the 2013 Scovie Awards was stronger than ever, with a record-breaking 805 product entries, according to Dave DeWitt, founder of the competition. Smokin’ Texas Gourmet’s awards included first place in the meat sauce condiment category for its Texas Especial Steak Sauce; second place in mustard condiments for its Jalapeno Honey Mustard; ... |
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Amazon.com Launches Online Wine Store
Amazon.com Inc. has launched Amazon Wine (www.amazon.com/wine), a marketplace offering customers more than a thousand wines crafted by wineries around the country. The new store features easy-to-use shopping tools to help customers explore great wines and offers access to details directly from winemakers, such as tasting notes, recommended food pairings and total case production. “Whether it’s helping customers find a favorite varietal, shop for holiday pairings or expand their cellar with a special handcrafted bottle, we’re excited to provide the right tools and information needed to guide them to the perfect wine,” said Peter Faricy, vice president of Amazon Marketplace. ... |
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Specialty Food Brokerage Sold
Wholesale specialty food brokerage Madison Lane, based in Portland, Ore., is expanding its offerings with the purchase of Seattle-based Murdock & White, a wholesale specialty food broker that represents a diverse range of regional, national and international specialty food products. “The timing was perfect,” said Brian Howard, owner of Madison Lane. “It was the right time for us to expand. I was ready to take Madison Lane to the next level, and Murdock & White was seeking a compatible buyer. It’s really the perfect match as together we bring 50 years of experience in specialty foods.” Charlene Murdock, co-owner of ... |
