Peet’s Coffee CEO Eric Lauterbach exits company ahead of Keurig-Dr. Pepper acquisition

Eric Lauterbach, who served arsenic CEO of Peet’s Coffee since 2022, has announced his departure from the institution aft 15 years. The institution confirmed that Lauterbach is being succeeded by Stuart Heflin, who antecedently served arsenic elder vice president of Quest Nutrition for Simply Good Foods. 

This announcement comes 3 months aft Keurig-Dr. Pepper entered an statement to get the java concatenation from JDE Peet’s successful an all-cash transaction valued astatine $18 billion. The acquisition is expected to beryllium finalized successful the archetypal 4th of 2026.

“During my clip astatine Peet’s, we transitioned from nationalist institution to backstage with our acquisition by JAB and backmost to nationalist with the enactment of JDEP,” Lauterbach said successful a connection released connected LinkedIn. “Our passionateness for large java was the 1 constant, and I’m assured that won’t change. Now it is the close clip for maine to determination connected and make abstraction for the adjacent leader. It has been a privilege to person been portion of this large institution and brand.”

Heflin volition beryllium joining Peet’s Coffee aft 5 years astatine Simply Good Foods, wherever helium led the Quest marque successful assorted roles. Before that, helium worked astatine Glanbia Performance Nutrition, arsenic good arsenic Procter & Gamble wherever helium led branding for aggregate retail companies including Metamucil, Iams, Tide, and more. 

JDE Peet's brands see Peet's, L'OR, Jacobs, Douwe Egberts, Kenco, Pilao, OldTown, Super, and Moccona. Peet’s Coffee had 254 U.S. units astatine the extremity of 2024, according to Technomic data.