Samsung And Illycaffè Announce Partnership

Samsung has announced a partnership with illycaffè aimed at making your next Galaxy smartphone or tablet shopping experience a little more delicious and caffeinated. The famed Italian coffee roaster has agreed to a multiyear deal with the device manufacturer to sell its coffee in several of Samsung’s flagship stores. Conversely, illy will offer Samsung products in its cafes.

It’s unclear if the partnership between the two companies will eventually grow deeper, but for now at least, Samsung has no plans of releasing an illy-branded Galaxy device, nor has illy disclosed any plan to offer Galaxy-branded latte art.   

"At Samsung, our goal is to help people live richer, simpler and more meaningful lives,” said Younghee Lee, executive vice president of global marketing, IT & mobile division at Samsung Electronics in a press statement. “We seek innovators like illy, who share our commitment to enhancing people’s daily lives, to be our partners. Together, we look forward to taking this collaboration to the next level in the near future by opening it up to new areas and additional shared projects and to driving creativity, innovation and passion over a great cup of coffee.” 

The first illy store to begin offering Samsung products will be the company’s Regent Street location in London. By the end of 2014, both companies expect to offer each other’s products at numerous locations. Cafes involved in the promotion will feature signage stating, “digitized by Samsung.”

“We are really proud to announce this partnership with Samsung,” said Andrea Illy, illycaffè Chairman and CEO. “illycaffè has always been at the forefront of creativity and innovation. Samsung is a natural ally for us in developing a new retail concept where the physical and digital experiences have no boundaries. Their passion for true creativity and their unrivaled expertise in technology innovation and new media will help us in bringing to life a totally new generation of coffee shops around the world.”