Boca Raton, FL (March 7, 2003) -- Ken Kimmel, Vice President Dunkin' Donuts Concepts for Dunkin' Donuts, America's largest retailer of coffee by the cup, today said the industry should emphasize the quality of coffee and market coffee the way the milk, pork and egg industries do, with national information campaigns.
Kimmel was speaking at the National Coffee Associations' 92nd annual meeting in Boca Raton, Fla.
"Individual companies within this industry know very well how to market and promote their brands," Kimmel said. "What we need now is to take that a step further and to begin marketing coffee itself. We need to do that together, as an industry."
Kimmel said the industry should support quality to maintain and grow the market for coffee. He said consumers have shown a clear preference for high quality coffee.
"In the coffee industry, we can see some of the handwriting already on the wall," Kimmel said. "The fastest growing segment of the supermarket coffee business is in the higher priced, specialty coffees sold by the bag.
"This flight to quality is not an emerging trend, it is an accelerating trend," Kimmel said.
Kimmel also said the industry should talk about itself and quality coffee to the public.
"We can not afford to allow the place that good coffee represents in our daily lives to be a secret," Kimmel said. "Quite the contrary, we need to make sure it's a well known fact."
About Dunkin' Donuts
Dunkin' Donuts is the largest coffee and baked goods chain in the world, providing its loyal customers with high quality coffee, bagels, donuts and other related baked goods since 1950. With more than 5,000 combined locations in the United States and 31 other countries, Dunkin' Donuts has established a worldwide reputation for quality, freshness and convenience. Dunkin' Donuts is based in Randolph, MA and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Allied Domecq (NYSE: AED).