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Swedish coffee beats Starbucks in US test

The Local Sweden
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Swedish coffee beats Starbucks in US test

US coffee drinkers prefer to drink Swedish brand Gevalia House Blend ahead of Seattle chain Starbucks' equivalent, according to a recent survey featured in a new advertising campaign.

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Gevalia is marketed by Kraft Foods in the US and the firm forwards the claim in its new advertising campaign that a blind third party test showed that almost 60 percent of coffee drinkers prefer their brew over Starbucks House Blend.

Kraft Foods further claim that the survey indicated that only 34 percent favoured the latter, according to the brandchannel.com website.

The claims are made in a television advert featuring a Swede named Johan, played by an American actor with a curiously Germanic/Dutch accent.

The advert features a lanky-haired Johan on one knee in the aisle of a supermarket, casually informing a customer that Gevalia is the preferred choice of coffee drinkers.

Having tasted a steaming cup of Gevalia House Blend, the customer is persuaded to discard the Starbucks House Blend that she was set to buy.

"That makes me very happy," Johan responds.

Kraft Foods was once a staunch ally of Starbucks in the US, helping the firm to build a $500 million per annum retail business.

The advert, released last Monday, is the first time the firms' advertising goes head to head in what US media are calling the coffee wars.

Starbucks has hitherto declined to comment on the campaign or the taste survey.

Peter Vinthagen Simpson

Follow Peter on Twitter here.

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