• by Nina Lentini  @Nina_Lentini, December 1, 2006

In a bid to nip at Pepsi's joint venture with Starbucks*, Coca-Cola North America (CCNA) and Caribou Coffee plan to launch a line of premium ready-to-drink iced coffees in the U.S. next summer.

Pepsi/Starbucks owns 90 percent of the RTD coffee market, according to John Sicher, editor of Beverage Digest, who predicted that Pepsi/Starbucks will continue to dominate. "Starbucks is very powerful, and Caribou is not a national brand. Coke is now planting a flag" in Pepsi's territory.

With 423 coffeehouses in the U.S., Caribou is a distant second to Starbucks, which has many thousands.

According to CCNA, volume sales in the RTD coffee category have grown 17 percent in the past four years, and revenues are up by 24 percent. According to Packaged Facts, U.S. retail sales of RTD coffees in 2005 were $362.8 million, representing 8.8 percent of the U.S. coffee market.

Yesterday's announcement follows a string of such new product initiatives made by CCNA. In August, it launched a line of premium indulgent beverages with Godiva. Earlier this year, it partnered with General Mills to launch a line of Caribou Coffee snack bars and with Kemps for a Caribou Coffee premium ice cream. * This phrase was modified after the original story was posted.