K-Cups are not going away. Last week, Starbucks Corp. announced it has expanded its partnership with Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. for the production of K-Cup packs. This new five-year agreement comes as the Seattle-based coffee giant positions itself to take its consumer packaged goods division global, which we wrote about here in Paige Papers.

Read full details on Starbucks and the K-Cup on NRN.

Summer has come to Starbucks, and they have a way to get that afternoon line doubled. It amazes us to watch the success of this deal each spring. They earn new converts for the whole summer with a week and a half’s worth of half-off frappuccinos.

There are new and returning seasonal drinks, with some serious anti-third wave launches like the Caramel Ribbon Crunch Frappuccino: caramel syrup blended with coffee, milk and ice, topped with caramel sauce, whipped cream, caramel and crunchy caramel sugar.

To celebrate the season and their new beverages, Starbucks has brought back its happy hour Friday, May 3 through Sunday, May 12. From 3 to 5 p.m.

We took part yesterday with the mocha frappuccino. After the discount, our grande “coffee granita” rang in at only $2.69.

Reporting a 26-percent increase in net income for the second quarter, Howard Schultz, Starbucks’ chair, president and chief executive, declared “Starbucks is as healthy as it ever has been.”

Europe, the Middle East and Africa remain a challenge, but Starbucks said Thursday plans for expanding its loyalty programs next month and building its packaged goods business will set the coffee company up for continued growth.