Dive Summary:
- In its Q4 earnings call last week, JM Smucker, maker of Jif peanut butter and Folgers coffee, reported sales of K-Cups topping $290 million for fiscal 2013, up 61% from around $180 million in 2012.
- Sales of K-Cups, specially made single-serve packs for Keurig machines, dropped from at least $30 million to $11 million in the fourth quarter, with COO Vincent C. Byrd crediting the decline to "unlicensed participants."
- U.S. Retail Coffee President Mark T. Smucker expects the sales to bounce back once consumers recognize the relative quality, and the company, which had $5.9 billion in net sales for 2013, also announced in the call that it would release 100 new products across all key brands and categories in 2014.
From the article:
... "[But] to build a $290m business in a short period of time, we are very, very pleased with that. While as expected the growth rate has slowed, we remain bullish on K-Cups." ...
