• The Associated Press, Monday, August 13, 2007 12:16 PM

Customers who now stop at Dunkin' Donuts for coffee to go won't have to go any farther than their kitchen. This month, retailers including Wal-Mart, Kroger and CVS began selling packaged Dunkin' coffee.

Dunkin' Donuts, via a retail distribution deal with Proctor & Gamble Co., will sell its packaged coffee at 40,000 grocery and other retailers nationwide. The retail distribution deal is about more than just getting existing restaurant customers to buy the packaged version while grocery shopping. It's about introducing the New England-bred brand to new customers in the West and South, where Dunkin' is expanding, with plans to triple U.S. stores to 15,000 by 2020.

Although some industry experts say the market for packaged coffee sipped at home isn't as robust as it is for java sold at restaurants and kiosks, Dunkin' and P&G believe there is plenty of demand.

Read the whole story at The Associated Press »