The global coffee market is huge and became more interesting lately.
Illy can be credited for pursuing a strict premium strategy.
Sturbucks charged four and more dollars per serving, when traditional marketers were still asking one dollar. That brand premium must have played a role, when Krueger took the Starbucks license for coffee capsules. And Nespresso changed the landscape too.
Now Cuisinart, manufacturer of coffeemakers and other culinary appliances, announced a joint venture with Illy, to develop a new line of espresso machines.
The collection, co-branded Cuisinart for illy, will feature illy’s proprietary iperEspresso capsule system.
The Cuisinart for illy product line is scheduled to debut by the first quarter of 2013 at Cuisinart and illy’s retail channels, department and specialty stores, and online.
Already in 2011, German coffee machine manufacturer WMF took a brand license from Baldessarini.
Of course, there have been other brand licenses before. And not all succeeded. For example, you do not hear, see or read a lot about Davidoff coffee anymore. A license held by German coffee giant Tchibo. The product cannot be blamed, that was excellent.