NEW YORK — Crumbs Bake Shop, Inc., the nation’s largest cupcake specialty retail store, will look to capture a piece of the growing coffee segment since it has inked a licensing deal with Long Island City, N.Y.-based White Coffee.
Under terms of the agreement, White Coffee will manufacture and distribute Crumbs Bake Shop brand packaged coffees and single-cup coffees to select retail outlets across the United States. The new line of coffee products will feature five flavor profiles, inspired by Crumbs’ gourmet cupcakes, including red velvet, Blackout and hazelnut, as well as a dark and medium roast. The coffees will be available in the second quarter of 2014 in supermarkets, mass merchants, wholesale clubs and independent food stores.
“This new line of coffee perfectly complements our baked goods and will bring the Crumbs Bake Shop experience not only to current guests but also to new customers across the country,” said Edward Slezak, interim chief executive officer and general counsel of Crumbs Bake Shop, Inc.
The coffees are packaged in 10-oz bags of ground beans, 1.5-oz vacuum bricks and single-cup coffees.
Late last week, Crumbs closed on a $5 million senior secured credit facility, paving the way for the company to implement a new business plan that focuses on developing a licensing program, adding franchised stores to complement Crumbs’ company-owned stores and the ongoing initiative of closing or co-branding existing stores that are currently unprofitable. The funding was provided by the owner of beaded ice cream maker Dippin’ Dots, L.L.C., who intends to explore possible synergies that may be created in the areas of co-branding, cross-branding and distribution.
