Caribou Coffee Company, Inc., the second largest company-operated premium coffeehouse retailer in the US, announced it will be expanding its retail and commercial footprint in the Chicagoland area by teaming up with Jewel-Osco, the city's market-leading grocery chain.

To kick-off this partnership, Caribou Coffee opened its first retail location within Jewel-Osco's Barrington store last week, with plans to introduce two additional coffeehouses in the grocery's Hoffman Estates and Countryside locations in the near future, as well as five additional coffeehouses within Jewel-Osco in 2013.

Through this partnership, Caribou will not only offer its signature, cozy coffeehouse environment and distinct offerings to Chicago consumers who visit Jewel-Osco stores, but the brand will also introduce its premium packaged coffee throughout the SUPERVALU-owned grocery chain. These offerings include a broad spectrum of roasts and blends that will provide shoppers with more quality options.

"With the introduction of Caribou's partnership with Jewel-Osco, our goal is to provide Chicagoans convenient access to Caribou's best-in-class, premium coffee products, paired with a comfortable, warm and welcoming coffeehouse setting," says Mike Tattersfield, president and CEO of Caribou Coffee. "This is a significant partnership for Caribou, as it allows us to expand our distribution in one of our key markets and accelerate Caribou's growth among diverse business units in partnership with Chicago's market-leading grocery chain."

The Jewel-Osco partnership is a key milestone in Caribou's plans for multi-channel growth. As part of its expansion strategy, Caribou plans to further expand among grocery and mass merchandise retailers nationwide.

Additionally, to celebrate the openings of the new Jewel-Osco locations this year, Caribou will reward three special fans with free Caribou beverages for the rest of the year, through its official "Text-to-Win Sweepstakes." For each location, Caribou fans can simply text a dedicated keyword during that store's respective contest period to the short code 70626 for a chance to win. Caribou will name one sweepstakes winner for each new Caribou location and participants must be residents of the new location's city.