McDonald's to sell bagged coffee in Canada

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OAK BROOK, Ill., Oct. 27 (UPI) -- McDonald's Corp. says it will sell bags of ground coffee in its Canadian restaurants starting in November.

A spokeswoman for the chain-restaurant said the company does not expect to begin selling ground coffee anywhere else at this time.

McDonald's, however, applied for a trademark the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in September to sell McDonald's brand coffee in bags, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.

The fast-food chain introduced McCafe items, including coffee, on its menu five years ago and has built up enough customer loyalty to compete with Dunkin' Donuts and Starbucks as a seller of brand coffee to be brewed at home, the newspaper said.

Besides providing profit in their own right, the McCafe items on the McDonald's menu have brought in new, repeat customers to the restaurants and established customer loyalty, the Journal said.

Coffee makes up 6 percent of company sales, up from 2 percent before 2004, when the McCafe concept was launched.