Dunkin' Donuts expands sales of packaged coffee

BOSTON -- To support that growth, Dunkin' and P&G say they've lined up 40,000 grocery and other retail stores nationwide to launch their packaged coffee.

Although some industry experts say the market for packaged coffee sipped at home isn't as robust as it is for java sold at restaurants and kiosks, Dunkin' and P&G believe there's plenty of demand.

"If you're going to be accessible, you have to be in both places," Robert Rodriguez, Dunkin's brand president, said in an interview. "If our numbers are correct, this is the logical extension for us and our brand."

Canton, Mass.-based Dunkin' Brands and Cincinnati-based P&G planned to announce details of their packaged coffee roll-out Monday after initially disclosing their joint venture in February.

The deal pairs Dunkin', a 57-year-old chain with 5,400 U.S. stores and 1,800 overseas locations, with P&G, the world's largest consumer products company. Some of its products include Folgers and Millstone coffee — already mainstays in grocery aisles — as well as Pampers diapers and Tide detergent.

P&G will roast the Dunkin's packaged coffee according to Dunkin's specifications and be responsible for distribution as well as a national marketing campaign based on the coffee shop chain's current "American runs on Dunkin" theme.

"For P&G, it gives them an entry into a premium coffee brand with a company that has a lot of loyalists," said Malcolm Knapp, president of the New York-based restaurant industry consulting company Malcolm M. Knapp. "Dunkin' Donuts gets P&G's distribution expertise and a new source of income — more than they would have on their own."