Safeway (NYSE:) supermarkets will in single-serving containers designed to fit the popular Keurig coffee brewing machine from Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (NASDAQ:).
The supermarket will offer five varieties of its coffees in K-Cup containers. They’ll join its existing line of instant K-Cups drinks, launched in January, which include two cappuccinos and a hot cocoa drink, Reuters noted.
Safeway’s announcement comes just days after Kroger‘s (NYSE:) said it plans to offer its branded coffees in K-Cups.
The supermarkets join Starbucks (NASDAQ:),
Kraft (NYSE:), Sara Lee (NYSE:) and Nestle (PINK:) in offering coffee in K-Cups. The growing market for K-Cup packaged coffees may ultimately hurt Green Mountain’s sales because supermarket brands are priced well below Green Mountain-branded K-Cups.
Making the Keurig-compatible containers for Safeway is Rogers Family, a California-based manufacturer and has been sued by the coffee maker for patent infringement. Rogers contends that design differences in its Keurig-compatible containers avoid infringing on Green Mountain’s patents.
Shares of both Safeway and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters slipped more than 1% in Friday midday trading.
