TASSIMO and Starbucks Launch New Coffeehouse-Style Single-Serve Hot Beverage Options

TARRYTOWN, N.Y. and SEATTLE, Nov. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- TASSIMO hot beverage system users have consistently asked for more Starbucks® beverage options since the two brands joined forces in 2007 to offer Starbucks® coffee T DISCs. And, 91 percent of prospective TASSIMO buyers said they would welcome the convenience of preparing a delicious single-serve latte or cappuccino beverage at home.

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Therefore, after an exciting collaboration, TASSIMO and Starbucks are proud to introduce two new single-serve coffeehouse-style beverages - Starbucks® Latte Primo and Starbucks® Cappuccino Primo for TASSIMO. The brands worked closely together to ensure that each beverage would provide an exceptional coffee experience. Each Starbucks® Latte Primo and Starbucks® Cappuccino Primo for TASSIMO beverage is designed to bring out optimal flavor and provide the perfect combination of high-quality Starbucks® coffee and milk creamer. The TASSIMO machine, manufactured and perfected by Bosch, reads each encoded disc and adjusts the temperature, brewing time and amount of water to guarantee a great latte or cappuccino each and every time.

Just in time for the holidays, the new Starbucks® Primo beverages for TASSIMO will be available to order online at www.tassimo.com and www.amazon.com beginning Nov. 17 and at national retailers beginning Dec. 1. Suggested retail price for a package of eight beverages is $10.99.

"We've worked with Starbucks to provide TASSIMO consumers with an outstanding single-serve experience," said Lorraine Hansen, Senior Vice President and General Manager, U.S. Coffee, Kraft Foods. "We're thrilled to offer - and we think consumers will be delighted with - these additional options from Starbucks, a brand that's synonymous with super-premium high-quality coffee. We continue to make it a priority to offer our consumers an exciting range of beverages they can enjoy in the comfort of their homes."

Starbucks has been buying and roasting only high-quality arabica coffee beans from around the world for nearly 40 years, resulting in a great cup of coffee, whether from a Starbucks retail store, brewed at home or prepared one cup at a time in a TASSIMO hot beverage system at the touch of a button. Starbucks offers several varieties of brewed coffee in T DISC form, including Starbucks® Breakfast Blend, Starbucks® House Blend, Colombia, Caffe Verona® and Africa Kitamu®.

"The relationship with TASSIMO has been a natural fit for Starbucks and we are pleased with the success of the Starbucks® coffee T DISC offerings," said Greg Price, vice president, Starbucks Global Consumer Products U.S. "Our continuing work together in single-serve hot beverage innovation now allows consumers to prepare and enjoy a brewed coffeehouse-style Starbucks® beverage at home. Providing consumers with a perfect coffee beverage is at the core of what we do as a company."

About the TASSIMO Hot Beverage System

TASSIMO freshly brews a wide variety of hot beverages, including coffees, lattes, cappuccinos, teas and hot chocolate. The TASSIMO system has two key components: the TASSIMO brewing machine and proprietary T DISCs. Through the TASSIMO smart technology, developed and designed by Kraft Foods, the Bosch machine's microprocessor reads the bar code printed on the T DISC label and automatically calculates the correct water amount, temperature and brewing time. All of the brewing happens inside the T DISC, which contains a precisely measured amount of coffee, tea, chocolate or real milk creamer and is sealed to protect the flavor inside. Most beverages are ready in about one minute. TASSIMO has an expanding selection of beverage brand options including Starbucks, Twinings, Maxwell House, Seattle's Best Coffee, Gevalia Kaffe and Milka. Visit www.tassimo.com .

About Kraft Foods

Kraft Foods ( www.kraftfoodscompany.com ) makes today delicious in 150 countries around the globe. 100,000 employees work tirelessly to make delicious foods consumers can feel good about. From American brand icons like Kraft cheeses, dinners and dressings, Maxwell House coffees and Oscar Mayer meats, to global powerhouse brands like Oreo and LU biscuits, Philadelphia cream cheeses, Jacobs and Carte Noire coffees, Tang powdered beverages and Milka, Cote d'Or, Lacta and Toblerone chocolates, their brands deliver millions of smiles every day. Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) is the world's second largest food company with annual revenues of $42 billion. The company is a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Standard & Poor's 500, the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and the Ethibel Sustainability Index.

About Starbucks Corporation

Since 1971, Starbucks Corporation (Nasdaq: SBUX) has been committed to ethically sourcing and roasting the highest quality arabica coffee in the world. Today, with stores around the globe, the company is the premier roaster and retailer of specialty coffee in the world. In addition to its Starbucks retail stores, the company produces a wide range of branded consumer products globally, including ready-to-drink beverages, packaged coffees and premium ice creams. The company's brand portfolio features Starbucks Coffee, Tazo Tea, Seattle's Best Coffee and Torrefazione Italia Coffee, enabling Starbucks to appeal to a broad consumer base. For more information, please visit us online at www.starbucks.com or www.starbuckscoffeeathome.com .

- make today delicious -

SOURCE TASSIMO