White Wave, the Dean Foods subsidiary, is to supply around 4000 Starbucks cafes with its Silk brand soymilk from this summer, the company announced last week.
The exclusive agreement means that Starbucks will offer Silk soymilk to customers and see both companies participating in in-store promotions and consumer advertising. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Silk, which is non-GMO, organic and kosher, will be identified on the menu boards in all Starbucks coffee stores and will also be offered cold, as single serve in select markets.
White Wave is aiming to integrate soy foods into the mainstream American market. With this deal, it targets several million Starbucks regular customers.
Silk was introduced on the US market in 1996. Since then the total soymilk category has grown from $124 million in US sales to approximately $675 million in 2002, according to the company.
White Wave claims the Silk brand is now worth around $350 million at retail. The company also offers Sun Soy soymilk, and other soy-based products such as White Wave Tempeh, Seitan, Baked Tofu and Silk Cultured Soy yogurt.