McDonald's (MCD -0.32%) is to start selling its McCafe brand in bags of ground coffee on the Canadian market next month, the firm's Canadian chief John Betts revealed to Reuters. It's likely that such goods will also be sold in the U.S., as the firm last month filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to apply the McCafe mark to ground and whole bean coffee products in this country.
If so, the McDonald's offerings will have to compete in a crowded market stuffed with similar products from popular chains such as Dunkin Brands' (DNKN) Dunkin' Donuts and Starbucks (SBUX 0.92%). Both companies have been active in the ground and whole bean coffee segment for quite some time.
The move comes as McDonald's is preparing to expand its footprint in Canada. Betts revealed that the company is to open around 30 new outlets by the end of 2012 alone, which he said is "more restaurants than we've built in the last seven or eight years."
