Bloomberg Businessweek October 5, 2020 pp19-21. “How Nerds Take Their Coffee”. “Single-serve giant Keurig is betting there’s a market for a Wi-Fi-enabled machine”. “Bottomline Keurig has cornered the market for single-serve coffee. Now a more expensive machine aims to lure consumers who are pickier about how they brew their java”
Photo credit Bloomberg.com
Two years ago Keurig became Keurig Dr Pepper, Inc and this October they will launch their new home single-serve coffee maker the Keurig Custom Smart-a “$399 Wi-Fi enabled capsule brewer seeking to gauge the U.S. thirst for connected caffeine..” Besides delivering “Point-Of-Consumption” information back to Keurig, it’s software “can recognize every one of the more than 800 pod varieties Keurig manufactures, including those under license from the likes of Starbucks, Inc. and Dunkin’ Brands group Inc.” Reading the single-serve pod the Keurig Custom Smart will brew each to exacting specifications yet a user can remotely “fine-tune thousands of permutations related to heat, speed, and strength through a mobile app.” CEO Bob Gamgort comments “This is the future of coffee.”
Like the following for craft brews, the public is “becoming more knowledgeable about the roasts they purchase and more committed to extract the best possible pour.” With such ease-of-use, Keurig having a 30M installed base is poised to outpace others in this $6B market. Even though the Custom Smart launch will be limited to “a few thousand units” it is seen as the “first serious attempt to tap into the demand from those discerning drinkers for smarter brewers than can re-create a barista’s standard without any of the effort and from the comfort of the kitchen counter.”