I remember the first time I heard about Keurig at-home brewers when they hit the market approximately 10 years ago. For a novice coffee drinker, the option for me to make just a single cup of a particular coffee and then switch up the flavor and brand next time without having to make an entire pot was particularly appealing.
About a decade later, it’s no surprise that Keurig at-home brewers still are making their mark on the consuming public. SKU proliferation seems to be the phrase of the year, and Keurig Green Mountain is capitalizing on this trend with new brand partnerships and, soon, new beverage categories.
Next year, Keurig Green Mountain, in collaboration with The Coca-Cola Co., will introduce the Keurig Cold system, which will cold-brew a range of The Coca-Cola Co.’s global beverages as well as some of Keurig Green Mountain’s own brands. This platform will bring Keurig Green Mountain into many new categories, including carbonated soft drinks, sports drinks, flavored waters, juice drinks and more.
Looking even further into the future, Keurig Green Mountain Chief Executive Officer Brian Kelley notes that the company will continue to expand its presence in the industry. In an interview for this month’s Executive of the Year article, he noted that its innovation will take the company down three paths: technologies that extend the company into new geographies, technologies that give it a specialty beverage capability, and technologies that extend it into new beverage categories.
“We would do any kind of innovation that extends us into new beverage categories,” he said. “… We want to be able to deliver every premium beverage that’s out there in our Keurig machine for the home.”