General Foods International
| Type | Instant beverage |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Varied |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Introduced | 1970s |
General Foods International is a subdivision of the Kraft Foods corporation, based in the United States. General Foods International produces several different flavors of instant coffee.
Established in the early 1970s as a brand belonging to what was then General Foods, General Foods International (now the only place where the General Foods name exists) has endured for nearly four decades. As such, it is one of the most recognizable brands of instant coffee. The first three flavors at launch were Cafe Au Lait (later renamed to Cafe Francais), Suisse Mocha, and Cafe Vienna.
Given the recent trend of "coffee culture," General Foods International has had to direct their product line towards the mainstream market, at the cost of various less popular flavors, most recently, Kahlua Cafe, which was discontinued in 2005. In addition to gearing their productline towards the mainstream, General Foods also must compete with several other brands of instant coffee, ranging from Nescafe, to the store brand version, which is less expensive.
Furthermore, Starbucks and several other large chain coffee corporations have put increased pressure on manufacturers of both instant coffee and traditional bean roasts, by introducing their own products in the supermarket, in addition to their drive-thru chain stores.
"General Foods International Coffees" underwent a name change in late 2005 to simply "General Foods International" in order to accommodate recent additions of non-coffee based beverages (Chai Latte and Vanilla Creme). In 2009, it began to carry a "From the makers of Maxwell House" hybrid.
During the summer of 2010, this product line was rebranded in some US markets as Maxwell House International Cafés.
The ingredient list for Cafe Vienna, as an example, is : sugar, nondairy creamer (partially hydrogenated soybean oil, corn syrup solids, sodium caseinate (from milk), dipotassium phosphate, mono- and diglycerides, soy lecithin), instant coffee, sodium citrate, natural and artificial flavor.
General Foods International also offers a small variety of Sugar Free versions of their more popular flavors.
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