Starbucks Takes Aim At Nestle's European Instant Coffee Market Share

FRANKFURT, March 2 (Reuters) - U.S.-based Starbucks Corp is planning to strengthen its presence in Europe and grab market share from Switzerland's Nestle in the area of instant coffee, its chief executive told a German newspaper.

"Nestle has done a fantastic job with Nespresso and created a billion-dollar business - it is time that we heat up the competition," Howard Schultz was quoted as saying by Financial Times Deutschland in an interview published on Friday.

Nestle dominates the $24 billion global instant coffee business, the paper added.

"First, we will spend some real money on marketing to make Starbucks bigger in Europe," the paper also cited Michelle Gass, head of Starbuck's EMEA business, as saying.

Schultz added Germany should have about 1,000 Starbucks stores, without giving a specific timeframe.

The company currently has about 150 outlets in Germany, Financial Times Deutschland said.