Seattle's Best Rubi Kiosks, the love child of the Coinstar company and Seattle’s Best parent corporation, Starbucks, will soon be in "grocery, drug and mass merchant retail channels,” according to this press release. They will start popping up this summer, with an estimated 500 machines expected to be in operation by the end of the year.
The two companies signed a five-year deal, reports FoxBusiness.com, with an option to extend the deal if the venture is successful. Under the terms of the agreement, Coinstar won't be able to sell other brands of coffee in the Rubi kiosks and Seattle's Best will not be allowed to open its own vending stations. The kiosks will grind and brew coffee to make drinks at all hours, and a basic cup of coffee will cost $1. Customers who want a fancier beverage, such as a vanilla latte or a mocha, will pay $1.50. As of right now, only one size drink is available, but there are seven drinks to choose from.
According to Eater.com, Coinstar hopes to install an estimated 15,000 Rubi Kiosks throughout the United States. Executives expect each machine to bring in $11,000 to $12,000 annually.
Although automatic retail has not been popular in this country, it has taken off in nations like Japan. "The U.S. has lagged other parts of the world in automated retail; and we are at forefront of this trend coming to the U.S.," said the senior vice president and general manager of Seattle's Best, Jim McDermet.
This is not Coinstar’s first foray into the automatic retail market. The company also owns Redbox, which is an automatic DVD rental company, and Coinstar change-counting machines.Together with Coinstar’s knowledge of the automatic retail method, Seattle’s Best coffee will likely reach new populations in typically unreachable areas. “This relationship is a logical next step in our strategy to bring great coffee to new and unexpected locations where it’s traditionally been hard to find great coffee,”McDermet said.
