(VILLORBA (TV), IT/PORTSMOUTH, Va. – November 12, 2015) – Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA (MZB), the North American operating unit of the Italy-based global coffee roaster and marketer Massimo Zanetti Beverage Group, has announced plans to acquire a 25.1 percent minority equity position in Club Coffee of Toronto, Canada, for $25.1 million (CDN), positioning both companies to boost sales growth through market-leading innovations.
The parties anticipate their agreement will enable MZB to expand its reach in Canada and Club Coffee to enhance its U.S. presence. The equity investment is expected to be finalized before the end of this calendar year and is subject to the parties’ successful conclusion of due diligence and other pre-closing conditions.
MZB’s collaboration with Club Coffee includes bringing the world’s first certified 100 percent compostable single-serve hot beverage technology to market. MZB will be the first company to give consumers a 100 percent compostable solution to their concerns about single-serve coffee waste, starting with its Hills Bros® coffee brand in January 2016.
“MZB knows that market leadership comes from seeing what consumers want, then delivering effectively,” said John Boyle, MZB USA’s chief operating officer. “We know consumers want a more sustainable option for their single-serve coffee and we are confident that our certified 100 percent compostable pod is the right solution. This equity stake demonstrates our enthusiasm for Club Coffee’s commitment to technology that delivers this simple solution. It also underscores our determination to build market leadership through the innovation and the quality consumers demand.”
“Our companies see significant opportunities for growth in the coffee market. PῧrPod100™, our certified 100 percent compostable single-serve pod, is just the first of those opportunities,” said John Pigott, Club Coffee CEO. “This strategic shift takes the long record of collaboration between both businesses to a new level. It positions MZB and Club Coffee to bring more new solutions to our customers across the coffee, tea and other hot beverage sectors.
MZB and Club Coffee were among the first companies to act on consumer concerns about the waste associated with single-serve coffee. MZB brought an important advance to the market with its Filter Cup™ format in 2013, which significantly reduced the amount of plastic compared to traditional singleserve plastic cups. The two companies announced the development of PῧrPod100™ in April 2015. This was followed by a September announcement that PῧrPod100™ had earned certification from the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) as industrially compostable.
About Massimo Zanetti Beverage
Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA, Inc. is among the nation’s largest coffee roasters, with nationally recognized retail brands including Chock full o’Nuts®, Hills Bros.®, Segafredo Zanetti®, Kauai Coffee®, MJB® and Chase & Sanborn®. With its headquarters and state-of-the art manufacturing facility in southeast Virginia, the company produces proprietary and private label coffee, tea and drink mix for customers in all retail and food service channels throughout North America and around the world. In addition, Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA franchises Chock full o’Nuts® Coffee Shops and Segafredo Zanetti Espresso® Cafés. Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA is part of the Massimo Zanetti Beverage Group, www.mzb-group.com, a global leader in the production, processing and marketing of roasted coffee and other selected products, distributed in about 110 countries. For more information, visit: www.mzb-usa.com.
About Club Coffee
Since 1906, Club Coffee, L.P. has built a reputation for quality and innovation. It is a key partner for MZB in the United States, the largest roaster, contract manufacturer and distributor of packaged coffees that Canadians buy from their grocery stores and a long-term partner of choice to major food service customers. Club Coffee’s record of generating innovative products and developing the proprietary blends that enable its customers to stand out in their consumer markets is backed up by an up-to-date processing infrastructure and the advanced operational and logistics capacities that ensure Club Coffee delivers on its commitment: “We innovate, we partner, we deliver . . . with passion.”www.clubcoffee.ca.
