Seattle's Best Coffee accelerates growth with new franchisees

Seattle Seattle’s Best Coffee, a subsidiary of Starbucks, announced on Monday that it has signed 10 new franchisees as a part of an effort to expand the company. These new franchisees, which aim to open cafes in several states including California; Illinois; Texas; and New York, will help grow its current cafe count from more than 550 as the brand expands across the United States.

Seattle’s Best Coffee said it continues to update and expand its franchise program offerings to reflect key components that make the brand more attractive to potential franchisees.

To further drive the growth of the brand, Seattle’s Best Coffee has recently expanded its leadership team with the appointments of long-time Starbucks veteran Michelle Gass, president, Seattle’s Best Coffee, to lead and grow the brand, and John Wuycheck to fill the new position of VP, franchising business development, to specifically focus on the franchising opportunity.

“The rapid expansion of Seattle’s Best Coffee will continue to be driven by opportunities to broaden our overall portfolio of cafes, consumer packaged goods and foodservice accounts,” said Gass. “We think there is a very big opportunity -- much larger than the business today -- that is complementary to the Starbucks brand and will be a significant competitor to other brands that currently exist in the market.”