WATERBURY, Vt.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Keurig Green Mountain, Inc., (Keurig) (NASDAQ: GMCR), a leader in specialty coffee, coffee makers, teas, and other beverages with its innovative brewing technology, today announced it has acquired the Laughing Man Coffee and Tea brand from Laughing Man Worldwide, LLC. Keurig will introduce Laughing Man’s curated selection of gourmet coffees and teas to Keurig® brand packs for use in Keurig® brewers beginning in spring 2015. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
“The Laughing Man Coffee and Tea brand today is much like our company 30 years ago: a small, passionate start-up with a mission to bring extraordinary coffee to the world,” said Brian Kelley, President and CEO at Keurig. “Consumers’ coffee tastes are expanding and there is increasing demand for distinct, super-premium coffee like Laughing Man’s curated collection. By bringing Laughing Man into our Keurig family of brands, we can significantly broaden awareness of and passion for these unique beverages, providing even broader variety and choice for Keurig brewer owners.”
“We started Laughing Man Coffee and Tea to fulfill a commitment I made to share the amazing products and story of an Ethiopian coffee farmer named Dukale,” said Hugh Jackman, co-founder of Laughing Man Worldwide. “Six years later, it’s humbling to think that, through this agreement, Dukale’s exceptional coffee will be enjoyed by millions through the convenience of the Keurig brewing system.”
Founded in 2008 and headquartered in New York City, Laughing Man Worldwide develops businesses that help commerce and community grow together. Laughing Man Coffee and Tea was the first venture under this model, inspired to bring gourmet coffees and teas to the world thanks to a moving encounter with an Ethiopian coffee farmer.
“We created Laughing Man Coffee and Tea with the belief that beautiful products arise from people who love what they do; Keurig Green Mountain’s ethos is just the perfect combination of passion and innovation,” said David Steingard, co-founder and CEO at Laughing Man Worldwide. “We couldn’t think of a better partner and brand than Keurig to help the Laughing Man brand live and grow.”
Beginning in spring 2015, Keurig intends to offer a selection of Laughing Man coffees in K-Cup® packs for the Keurig® hot brewing system, including the new Keurig® 2.0, exclusively on Keurig.com and expand to specialty retailers by the end of 2015. The initial launch will feature Laughing Man’s distinct flavor profiles, including Dukale's Blend, a balanced, velvety, and bright dark roast coffee and the cornerstone of Laughing Man’s collection.
Keurig® hot system brewers use innovative brewing technology to deliver a fresh-brewed, perfect single cup of hot or brewed over ice coffee, tea, cocoa, or fruit brews every time at just the touch of a button. With the launch of the next generation Keurig® 2.0 brewer, consumers are able to brew both a single cup and a carafe of coffee from a Keurig® brand pack. With Keurig® 2.0 brewing systems, consumers continue to get the same Keurig quality, simplicity, and beverage choice they expect with 60 brands and nearly 400 beverage varieties currently available, all brewed with Keurig's new beverage-optimizing brewing technology.
About Keurig Green Mountain, Inc.
As a leader in specialty coffee, coffee makers, teas and other beverages, Keurig Green Mountain (Keurig) (NASDAQ: GMCR), is recognized for its award-winning beverages, innovative Keurig® brewing technology, and socially responsible business practices. The Company has inspired consumer passion for its products by revolutionizing beverage preparation at home and in the workplace. Keurig supports local and global communities by investing in sustainably-grown coffee and by its active involvement in a variety of social and environmental projects. By helping consumers drink for themselves, we believe we can brew a better world. For more information visit: www.KeurigGreenMountain.com. To purchase Keurig® products visit: www.Keurig.com or www.Keurig.ca.
Keurig routinely posts information that may be of importance to investors in the Investor Relations section of its website, www.KeurigGreenMountain.com, including news releases and its complete financial statements, as filed with the SEC. The Company encourages investors to consult this section of its website regularly for important information and news. Additionally, by subscribing to the Company's automatic email news release delivery, individuals can receive news directly from Keurig as it is released.
Keurig Green Mountain Forward-Looking Statements
Certain information in this filing constitutes "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. They often include words such as "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "estimates," "intends," "plans," "seeks" or words of similar meaning, or future or conditional verbs, such as "will," "should," "could," "may," "aims," "intends," or "projects." However, the absence of these words or similar expressions does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. These statements may relate to: the expected impact of raw material costs and our pricing actions on our results of operations and gross margins, expected trends in net sales and earnings performance and other financial measures, the expected productivity and working capital improvements, the success of introducing and producing new product offerings, the impact of foreign exchange fluctuations, the adequacy of internally generated funds and existing sources of liquidity, such as the availability of bank financing, the expected results of operations of businesses acquired by us, our ability to issue debt or additional equity securities, our expectations regarding purchasing shares of our common stock under the existing authorizations, projections of payment of dividends, the impact of pending shareholder litigation, and the impact of antitrust litigation pending against the Company in the United States and Canada. A forward-looking statement is neither a prediction nor a guarantee of future events or circumstances, and those future events or circumstances may not occur. Management believes that these forward-looking statements are reasonable as and when made. However, caution should be taken not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements because such statements speak only as of the date when made. We expressly disclaim any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. In addition, forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from our Company's historical experience and our present expectations or projections. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those described in Part I, "Item 1A. Risk Factors" and Part II, "Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in our Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the fiscal year ended September 27, 2014, and elsewhere in that report and those described from time to time in our future reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
KGM-G, KGM-US
