Dunkin' Donuts, Coca-Cola Bringing Bottled Iced Coffee to a Grocery Store Near You

CANTON, MA – Dunkin' Donuts and Coca-Cola are coming together to create a bottled, iced-coffee product distributed straight to retailers' store shelves.

Together, the companies plan to manufacture and distribute the new, ready-to-drink beverages, which will include milk, sugar, and multiple flavors.

You may start seeing them pop up in the refrigerator cases of grocery and convenience stores starting early next year. They'll also be on sale at Dunkin' restaurants across the country.

“This new product introduction will increase consumption of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee and increase our brand relevance with existing and new consumers, including many younger customers, which we believe will in turn, drive incremental visits to our restaurants," Dunkin’ Brands Chairman and CEO Nigel Travis explained in a press release to investors.

Coca-Cola Company will produce, bottle and distribute the beverages to its partners. Much of the return on sales outside the stores will go back toward bolstering the bottom lines of Dunkin' Donuts franchisees, the company said.

“Our research has clearly shown that ready-to-drink coffee consumption is a separate occasion from the purchase of our restaurant-brewed iced coffee," Travis said. "That same research also shows that having a ready-to-drink coffee product builds brand loyalty. We strongly believe that this product launch is good for customers and for our franchisees.”

This builds on Canton-based Dunkin's previous partnership with Coca-Cola at its restaurants. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Coffee competitor Starbucks kicked off the trend in earnest in the mid-1990s with its bottled frappuccino. Those sales, which continue today with a range of bottled, cold coffee drinks, are done in partnership with PepsiCo.

Photo by m01229 via Flickr/Creative Commons