Keurig, Kraft are new coffee partners

KEURIG Green Mountain's recent history is dotted with interesting partnerships including one with the Coca-Cola Company which has enabled consumers to make their own Coke drinks at home. Its collaboration with McDonald’s, meanwhile, is to distribute the fast-food giant’s packaged coffee to retailers, allowing consumers to make McCafé drinks with their Keurig machines at home.

The latest with Kraft Foods involves a licensing, production, and distribution agreement for Kraft’s major coffee brands, including Maxwell House and Gevalia. For owners of a Keurig single-serve brewing system, this means they can also brew these coffees at home.

“The company is successful at leveraging licensed partnerships with brands and retailers to increase awareness of its proprietary brewing system,” stated Packaged Facts research director, David Sprinkle. At the same time, the success of Keurig  in the coffee market shows how Americans enjoy replicating coffee on their own. 

In its latest study, “Coffee and Ready-to-Drink Coffee in the U.S.: Retail and Foodservice, 8th Edition,” Packaged Facts said that Keurig’s growth is a result of its strength in brewing systems for the at-home and away-from home locations. By driving usage frequency of single-cup beverage in its brewing systems, the company has become even more successful. In 2013, sales of coffee at Keurig amounted to nearly $1.4 billion, an increase of 25%.  Of this, single cup accounted for 97% whilst the remainder was for ground/whole bean and ready-to-drink/iced coffee, according to the report.

Overall, the company accounts for 15% share of the US retail coffee market, and it is only second to J.M. Smucker, maker of Folgers and Dunkin’ Donuts coffee. (Photo © ragnarocks / 123RF Stock Photo)