Starbucks and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. Expand Strategic Relationship

Starbucks® coffee and Tazo® tea to be available for new Keurig® Vue™ Brewer

Starbucks Coffee Company (NASDAQ: SBUX - News) and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (GMCR) (NASDAQ: GMCR - News), a leader in specialty coffee and coffee makers, today announced the expansion of their strategic relationship for the manufacturing, marketing, distribution and sale of Starbucks-branded Vue™ packs for use in GMCR’s recently introduced Keurig® Vue™ Brewer.

“We are proud to expand our relationship with Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and are looking forward to working with our colleagues at GMCR to further accelerate growth in premium single-serve coffee,” said Jeff Hansberry, president, Channel Development, for Starbucks.

“Premium single cup is the fastest-growing segment of global coffee, and the expansion of our relationship with GMCR allows us to grow further, faster, in the single cup category.”

Starbucks is the exclusive, licensed super-premium coffee brand produced by GMCR for the Keurig K-Cup® Single Cup Brewing system and now, with the expanded relationship, the new Vue™ system. According to the terms of the agreement, Keurig® is the exclusive low-pressure (30 psi or under), single cup brewing system of its kind offering fresh-brewed Starbucks® coffee and Tazo® tea. Starbucks and GMCR expect GMCR to distribute Starbucks Vue™ packs initially in specialty, department store, and mass retailers in the U.S. as well as on GMCR’s consumer direct websites by fall 2012.

“The success of our Keurig® Single Cup Brewing system has been driven by choice – choice of coffee brands and beverage varieties, and choice of brewer features and models. With the introduction of Vue™ we’ve expanded that choice even further, giving consumers a brewer with features and functionality they’ve told us they value most,” said Lawrence J. Blanford, GMCR president and CEO. “We believe the customization offered by Vue™ and its appeal as a premium beverage solution will resonate with loyal Starbucks consumers, and we’re pleased to have Starbucks® coffee as a brand option in the system as we move forward.”

About Starbucks Corporation

Since 1971, Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX - News) has been committed to ethically sourcing and roasting the highest quality arabica coffee in the world. Today, with stores around the globe, the company is the premier roaster and retailer of specialty coffee in the world. In addition to its Starbucks retail stores, the company produces a wide range of branded consumer products globally, including ready-to-drink beverages, packaged coffees and premium ice creams. The company’s brand portfolio features Starbucks Coffee, Tazo Tea, Seattle’s Best Coffee and Torrefazione Italia Coffee, enabling Starbucks to appeal to a broad consumer base. For more information, please visit us online at www.starbucks.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements, including relating to a strategic relationship with Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. and Keurig, Inc., and expectations and strategy regarding the single serve-coffee sector. These forward-looking statements are based on currently available operating, financial and competitive information and actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied by the statements due to a number of significant risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include: continued growth in the single-serve sector of the coffee industry and market acceptance of Starbucks coffee in that sector; the ability of Starbucks to accelerate its growth in the single-serve sector; the success of the Keurig® Vue™ Brewer; competition from existing and new premium coffee entrants including similar single-serve platforms; and other risks detailed in the Starbucks filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the “Risk Factors” section of Starbucks Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal ended October 2, 2011. The company assumes no obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements.

About Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc.

As a leader in specialty coffee and coffee makers, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (GMCR) (NASDAQ: GMCR - News), is recognized for its award-winning coffees, innovative Keurig® Single Cup brewing technology, and socially responsible business practices. GMCR supports local and global communities by offsetting 100% of its direct greenhouse gas emissions, investing in sustainably-grown coffee, and donating at least five percent of its pre-tax profits to social and environmental projects. For more information, please visit us online at www.GMCR.com; www.greenmountaincoffeeroasters.com or www.keurig.com.

GMCR routinely posts information that may be of importance to investors in the Investor Relations section of its website, including news releases and its complete financial statements, as filed with the SEC. The Company encourages investors to consult this section of its website regularly for important information and news. Additionally, by subscribing to the Company’s automatic email news release delivery, individuals can receive news directly from GMCR as it is released.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained herein are not based on historical fact and are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the applicable securities laws and regulations. Generally, these statements can be identified by the use of words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “feel,” “forecast,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “project,” “should,” “would,” and similar expressions intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Owing to the uncertainties inherent in forward-looking statements, actual results could differ materially from those stated here. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the difficulty in forecasting sales and production levels, the degree to which there are changes in consumer sentiment in this difficult economic environment, the Company’s success in efficiently expanding operations and capacity to meet growth, the Company’s success in efficiently and effectively integrating the Company’s acquisitions, the ability to maximize or successfully assert our intellectual property rights, the Company’s success in introducing and producing new product offerings, the Company’s dependence on external capital, including the Company’s credit facility, competition and other business conditions in the coffee industry and food industry in general, fluctuations in availability and cost of high-quality green coffee, any other increases in costs including fuel, the Company’s ability to continue to grow and build profits in the At Home and Away from Home businesses, the Company’s ability to attract and retain senior management, the continued availability of a consistent supply of parts for our brewers, and the brewers themselves, the Company experiencing product liability, product recall and higher than anticipated rates of warranty expense or sales returns associated with a product quality or safety issue, the extent to which the data security of the Company’s websites may be compromised, the impact of the loss of major customers for the Company or reduction in the volume of purchases by major customers, delays in the timing of adding new locations with existing customers, the Company’s level of success in continuing to attract new customers, sales mix variances, weather and special or unusual events, the impact of the inquiry initiated by the SEC and any related litigation or additional governmental investigative or enforcement proceedings, as well as other risks described more fully in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for fiscal year 2011 and other filings with the SEC. Forward-looking statements reflect management’s analysis as of the date of this release. The Company does not undertake to revise these statements to reflect subsequent developments, other than in its regular, quarterly earnings releases.

Contact:
Starbucks Coffee Company
(Media)
Alisa Martinez, +1-206-318-7100
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(Investors)
JoAnn DeGrande, +1-206-318-7118
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or
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc.
Suzanne DuLong, +1-802-882-2100
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