Dive Brief:
- Mondelez International and D.E Master Blenders are considering a sale of two French coffee brands.
- The plan, reported by Reuters, is the latest twist in the complex deal to merge Mondelez' coffee units with D.E Master Blenders to create what would be the world's largest pure play coffee company.
- Lazard has been hired to advise the companies on a possible sale of the L'Or and Grand Mere brands.
Dive Insight:
It's not surprising that these two companies would be looking to rationalize their brand offerings prior to the creation of the new company, dubbed Jacobs Douwe Egberts. And in the grand scheme of things, two small brands like L'Or and Grand Mere simply don't merit the attention directed to stars of the new company such as Senseo, Gevalia, and Douwe Egberts.
But there may be something else happening here that suggest how Jacobs Douwe Egberts will approach the market. L'Or, one of D.E Master Blenders' brands, makes capsules for use in Nestle's Nespresso brewing system. Perhaps the new Jacobs Douwe Egberts has no intention of selling anything that would compete against its Senseo system.