Illy North America Taps Hudson News Distributors For Illy Ready to Drink

PARSIPPANY, N.J.– Hudson News Distributors has announced an agreement with Illy North America to distribute Illy ready to drink coffee to its retail network in the Northeast market. Illy Ready to Drink is the perfect product for on-the-go coffee lovers that want the quality and taste of Illy coffee.

Illy Ready to Drink (RTD) is 100 percent Arabica coffee and delivers the extraordinary taste of Illy coffee known around the world. The all natural product has no preservatives, added colors or flavors and is sweetened with non-GMO beet sugar. The Illy Ready to Drink Cappuccino, Caffè Latte and Mochaccino SKUs use Hormone-free milk and have less calories per serving than other popular ready to drink coffees on the market (nearly 50 percent in comparison with certain brands). One of the popular SKUs – the Unsweetened illy caffè espresso contains only 5 calories for a 6.8 o.z. can.

Illy, the global leader in high-quality, sustainably sourced coffee is headquartered in Trieste, Italy and was established in 1933. The singular Illy blend consists of nine of the world’s best Arabica beans selected and directly purchased by Illy from growers spanning four continents. With the bestowing of the first “Ernesto Illy Award for quality espresso coffee” in 1991 in Brazil, Illy is the pioneer for direct sourcing of coffee, sharing know-how with coffee growers and paying a premium price for the best quality coffee, based on partnerships underwritten by the principles of sustainable development.

Illy RTD Coffee is poised to be a leader in the category and the Illy brand attracts coffee lovers that enjoy quality food, lifestyle and products that are authentic within the cold coffee category, 88 percent of sales are RTD, category sales are +12 percent YOY ,and cold coffee is the preferred drink of 66 percent of millennials according to industry data.

“We deliver quality services and products to our network and adding Illy Ready to Drink to our portfolio is a testament to our commitment and business approach,” said Tom Dowdy, chief revenue office of Hudson News Distributors. “Our direct store delivery model can provide a wide array of beverages and snacks to consumers without investing in infrastructure such as warehouse space or trucks. We insure that the last five feet of the path-to-purchase, whether shelf or cooler, is executed flawlessly.”

Hudson News Distributors a Win-win For Beverage and Snack Brands

Hudson News Distributors made its start in 1918 and established a reputation by delivering books and magazines to retailers across the Northeast, but as the migration of print publications go digital, the company began offering other categories to its significant distribution network.

“We have a huge infrastructure that has been built over many years that includes 14 warehouses, 400 delivery trucks, and 2,000 merchandisers,” Dowdy said.

The company can strategically support high quality, well-known brands and beverage like Illy RTD Coffee, and others in the snack and FMCG category, which represent a significant opportunity especially with our available distribution capacity.

“We have a footprint of 15,000 retail stores which includes regional grocery chains, C-Stores, national retailers (like CVS Pharmacy, Target and others), airport retailers and over 2,400 independents,” said Dowdy. “Our DSD services to these stores multiple times per week creates huge critical mass efficiencies for brands.”

For more information please visit: hudsonnews.com