Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. and Dunkin’ Donuts to Make America’s Favorite Coffee Available in K-Cup Portion Packs for Keurig Single-Cup Brewers

Dunkin’ K-Cup portion packs to be sold exclusively at participating Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants

Dunkin’® K-Cup portion packs (Photo: Business Wire)

WATERBURY, Vt. & CANTON, Mass.--()--Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (GMCR) (NASDAQ: GMCR), a leader in specialty coffee and coffee makers, and Dunkin’ Donuts, a market leader in the hot regular, flavored and iced coffee categories, today announced a promotion, manufacturing and distribution agreement that will make Dunkin’ Donuts coffee available in single-serve K-Cup® portion packs for use with Keurig® Single-Cup Brewers. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Beginning this summer, Dunkin’ Donuts will offer 14-count boxes of authentic Dunkin’ Donuts coffee in single-serve K-Cup portion packs exclusively at participating Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants in the U.S. and Canada. GMCR will exclusively package the new Dunkin’® K-Cup portion packs using coffee sourced and roasted to Dunkin’ Donuts’ exacting specifications. Dunkin’ K-Cup portion packs will be available in five popular Dunkin’ Donuts flavors, including Original Blend, Dunkin’ Decaf, French Vanilla, Hazelnut and Dunkin’ Dark®. In addition, participating Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants will, on occasion, offer Keurig Single-Cup Brewers for sale.

“GMCR’s agreement with Dunkin’ Donuts is part of our strategy of aligning with the strongest coffee brands to support a range of consumer choice and taste profiles in our innovative Keurig Single-Cup Brewing system,” stated Lawrence J. Blanford, GMCR President and CEO. "Dunkin’ Donuts has top quality coffee, an extremely loyal customer base and impactful advertising programs. Combine those assets with consumers’ enthusiastic response to Keurig’s Single-Cup Brewing technology and we believe this alliance represents a truly exciting opportunity for both companies, with the potential to strengthen Keurig brewer adoption by consumers in one of the fastest-growing categories of the coffee industry.”

"We believe customers will be delighted to learn that ‘America’s Favorite Coffee’ will soon be able to be prepared in America’s fastest-growing single-cup brewing system,” said Nigel Travis, Dunkin’ Brands CEO and Dunkin’ Donuts President. “By introducing Dunkin’ K-Cup portion packs and making them available exclusively in our restaurants, we are giving more people more occasions to enjoy Dunkin’ Donuts coffee and more ways to enjoy using their Keurig Single-Cup Brewing Systems. We believe this alliance of two brand leaders means incremental sales for GMCR, for Dunkin’ Donuts and for our Dunkin’ Donuts franchisees.”

According to The NPD Group / CREST®, Dunkin’ Donuts serves the most hot traditional and iced coffee in America,* selling more than one billion cups of hot and iced coffee every year. Dunkin’ Donuts uses 100% Arabica coffee beans, and the company’s coffee specifications are recognized by the industry as a superior grade of coffee. Dunkin’ Donuts was recently ranked number one in customer loyalty in the coffee category for the fifth consecutive year by the 2010 Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index. Additionally in 2010, Dunkin’ Donuts opened more net new locations globally than any other quick-service (QSR) brand.

GMCR’s Keurig Single-Cup brewers for in-home and office use utilize patented, innovative brewing and single-cup technology to deliver a fresh-brewed, perfect cup of coffee, tea, or cocoa every time at just the touch of a button. Brewers with Keurig Brewed® technology were the top five selling coffeemakers in the U.S. on a dollar basis for the period of October through December 2010 and represented an estimated 49% of total coffeemaker dollar sales for that period according to The NPD Group / CREST®.

*For Quick Service Restaurants Year Ending October 2010.

About Dunkin’ Donuts

Founded in 1950, Dunkin' Donuts is America's favorite all-day, everyday stop for coffee and baked goods. Dunkin' Donuts is a market leader in the hot regular/decaf/flavored coffee, iced coffee, donut, bagel and muffin categories. Dunkin' Donuts has earned the No. 1 ranking for customer loyalty in the coffee category by Brand Keys for five years running. The company has more than 9,700 restaurants in 31 countries worldwide. In 2010, Dunkin' Donuts' global system-wide sales totaled $6 billion. Based in Canton, Mass., Dunkin' Donuts is a subsidiary of Dunkin' Brands, Inc. For more information, visit www.DunkinDonuts.com.

About Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR)

As a leader in specialty coffee and coffee makers, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR), is recognized for its award-winning coffees, innovative brewing technology, and socially responsible business practices. GMCR’s operations are managed through three business units. The Keurig business unit is comprised of Keurig, Incorporated, a wholly owned subsidiary of GMCR. Keurig is a pioneer and leading manufacturer of gourmet single-cup brewing systems for both at-home and away-from home use, predominantly in North America. The Specialty Coffee business unit produces, markets and sells coffee, tea, hot cocoa and other beverages in a variety of packaging formats, including K-Cup® portion packs for Keurig Single-Cup Brewers. The Canadian business unit produces, markets and sells coffees in K-Cup portion packs and other packaging formats and is responsible for managing the Van Houtte business as well as the grocery channel for all GMCR coffee brand sales in Canada. GMCR supports local and global communities by offsetting 100% of its direct greenhouse gas emissions, investing in sustainably-grown coffee, and allocating at least five percent of its pre-tax profits to socially and environmentally responsible initiatives.

GMCR routinely posts information that may be of importance to investors in the Investor Relations section of its website, including news releases and its complete financial statements, as filed with the SEC. The Company encourages investors to consult this section of its website regularly for important information and news. Additionally, by subscribing to the Company’s automatic email news release delivery, individuals can receive news directly from GMCR as it is released.

Dunkin’ Brands, Inc. Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release express our opinions, expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or projections regarding future events or future results, including, among other things, our results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth, strategies and the industry in which we operate, and therefore are, or may be deemed to be, “forward-looking statements.” These forward-looking statements can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms “believes,” “estimates,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “seeks,” “projects,” “intends,” “plans,” “may,” “will” or “should” or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements include all matters that are not historical facts. Due to the risks and uncertainties inherent in forward-looking statements, actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied in this press release. We do not undertake to revise or update any of the forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

GMCR Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained herein are not based on historical fact and are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the applicable securities laws and regulations. Generally, these statements can be identified by the use of words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “feel,” “forecast,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “project,” “should,” “would,” and similar expressions intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Forward looking statements made by GMCR in this press release include: we believe this alliance represents a truly exciting opportunity for both companies with the potential to strengthen Keurig brewer adoption by consumers in one of the fastest growing categories of the coffee industry. These statements are based on information available to the Company as of the date hereof; and GMCR’s actual results or performance could differ materially from those stated or implied, due to risks and uncertainties associated with its business, which include the risk factors disclosed in its Report on Form 10-K, which GMCR filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 9, 2010. Forward-looking statements reflect management’s analysis as of the date of this release. The Company does not undertake to revise these statements to reflect subsequent developments, other than in its regular, quarterly earnings releases.

GMCR-C

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Contacts

Dunkin’ Brands, Inc.
Karen Raskopf, 781-737-5200
SVP, Corporate Communications
karen.raskopf@dunkinbrands.com
or
Michelle King, 781-737-5200
Director, Global Public Relations
michelle.king@dunkinbrands.com
or
GMCR
Suzanne DuLong, 802-882-2100
VP IR & Corp Comm
investor.services@gmcr.com

Contacts

Dunkin’ Brands, Inc.
Karen Raskopf, 781-737-5200
SVP, Corporate Communications
karen.raskopf@dunkinbrands.com
or
Michelle King, 781-737-5200
Director, Global Public Relations
michelle.king@dunkinbrands.com
or
GMCR
Suzanne DuLong, 802-882-2100
VP IR & Corp Comm
investor.services@gmcr.com