Kraft Foods, maker of Maxwell House coffee, said Wednesday it will raise prices on most of its U.S. single-serve coffees for the first time, extending its price increases to the more lucrative market.
Kraft will raise the price of its Maxwell House, Gevalia, McCafe and Yuban K-Cup packs by about 9 percent, effective Dec. 28, due to sustained price increases in associated raw materials, a company spokeswoman said.
This comes after the large U.S. roaster raised prices on its Maxwell House and Yuban roast and ground coffee brands by about 10 percent in June, its first increase in three years. It raised prices for its premium Gevalia brand by about 7 percent the following month.
Other major U.S. roasters also raised their roast and ground prices around that time, but single-serve was excluded.
On Nov. 3, Keurig, the maker of single-serve K-Cups, raised its portion pack prices.
Single-serve coffee pods carry significantly larger profit margins than roast and ground coffee.
Arabica coffee futures prices have been extremely volatile in 2014. They reached their highest level in more than 2-1/2 years in October at $2.29 per pound, after a drought in Brazil, the world’s largest grower, was followed by a dry period during the critical flowering period. The price is about 45 percent higher than at the end of 2013, marking the biggest gains by far on the 19-market Thomson Reuters CoreCommodity CRB Index.
Source: chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-kraft-kcup-coffee-price-increase-20141203-story.html
