Sonam Mhaskar
New Product Development
Keurig at Home Case Study
Introduction:-
Keurig Inc has been founded on an amazing idea that coffee making systems that uses individual portion packs of freshly roasted and ground coffee with unique coffee maker designed to brew perfect cup of coffee at a time. At that time there are already established gourmet coffee houses like Starbucks, which is making coffee consumers to spend more money with an average of $ 1.50 or more for a cup of gourmet coffee. This change is consumer behavior created opportunity to Keurig to offer gourmet coffees by a single-cup in offices in 1998. Within a span of four years (1996-2000), Keurig have noticed sales increased by 40% in US at home coffee market. With these facts Keurig´s management got convinced, to develop an at home one-cup coffee brewer especially for gourmet coffee lovers.
Keurig´s started approaching venture capital for funds to make their concept to a reality of single cup brewing system and their first target was coffee service market, the B2000 which was launched in 1998.
Keurig changed its owner structure in 2002. They made agreements with two of its roasters partners that are Van Houtte and GMCR, both acquired 70% stake in the company. Keurig’s single portion system is dependent entirely on the three key elements. a coffee brewer that perfectly controlled the amount, temperature and pressure of water to provide a consistency superior tasting cup of coffee. Crucial differentiation for
As a shopping product, we can expect considerable planning time involved – as it could be considered a “big ticket item” when compared to the everyday coffee brewer, however with price being part of the marketing mix, we plan to price it competitively with its sister-like products, taking in its additional conveniences and manufacturing costs into pricing and revenue management. Introductory cost projections are in the $220-$250 range. With our image already defined in the small electronics industry, we plan to market heavily on the already in-place reputation.
This brief SWOT analysis serves to show that although there are obstacles to entering the market, that KFF also has many strengths and opportunities to profit from its new line of coffee to the Canadian consumer.
In March of 2015, Keurig acquired DS Services. Through the acquisition of DS Services, Keurig will now be able to offer a new brand of beverages – Javarama. Keurig’s deal with DS Services will allow Keurig to manufacture Javarama and other gourmet roasts through the exclusive K-Cup platform. This acquisition shows Keurig’s commitment to providing its customers with new, desirable products. Keurig Green Mountain is a leader in the industry it operates in.
Although the company is known for their coffee, they also drive a great portion of their revenue from baked good sales, which differs greatly from the Keurig Green Mountain strategy. Dunkin does compete against Dunkin intensely in the New England market, as both companies were founded and based in the area.
The Keurig coffee brewer is the leader in the retail market for single serves coffee brewers but it can do better. Keurig has been slowly losing some of its share of the retail market in recent years. In 2011 Keurig controlled 54 percent of the market which is down from its 2010 number of 60 percent and 2009 number of 63 percent (Geller). Keurig needs to take its product and it has to offer and enter into new markets and segments. It mainly needs to focus on the younger and lower income level of its
They have focused on building brand recognition and profitability by growing the business gaining assets to grow the company and products for greater customer satisfaction (About GMCR, 2004-2009). GMCR’s strategy to incorporate current large brands, such as Tully’s, Diedrich, and Keurig has helped to expand their customer base and satisfaction as well as the markets for their products (Phillips, 2011). Their focus on increasing their market shares in other companies will facilitate their expansion into new geographical markets and promote the brand. GMCR’s partnership with Keurig creates a larger consumer choice and the addition of agreements to create portion packs for the Keurig with companies such as Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, and Newman’s Own helps set them apart from the competition (Invest in the Markets, 2011).
We are surrounded by many choices when we start our day, such as what we are going to wear, what we are going to eat, and where we are going to get our source of caffeine from to use to start the day. There are so many choices on where to get that caffeine from, outside coffee shops, an old coffee maker, french press, and lastly the newest invention, the Keurig machine. The Keurig machine itself was invented in 1990, with its first machine manufactured in the 2000’s. (Keurig website) It’s very challenging in a modern world like todays, not to be drawn to this neat, and useful device. Looking at it, it can brew a cup of coffee with just the touch of a button in seconds. There isn’t a massive glass jar like an old-fashioned coffee maker would have, instead just enough room for any mug of choice. There is always a question of, what is a Keurig machine? Well, according to the Keurig website, it is a beverage, brewing system used for both commercials, and home use. Instead of usual coffee machines requiring a switch to flip to brew, and a coffee filter, and filling the glass with water, the Keurig allows a small portion called a “K-Cup” which is used to brew the coffee. The middle-aged and adult populations are highly targeted with this new invention. The ad imposes that our lives can be easier with the touch of a button, and boom our source of coffee is delivered within seconds. The advertisement has adequately shown the easy steps one can take to brew a
We are surrounded by many choices when we start are day, such as what we are going to wear, what we are going to eat, and where we are going to get our source of caffeine from to use to start the day. There are so many choices on where to get that caffeine from, outside coffee shops, an old fashioned coffee maker, french press, and lastly the newest invention, the Keurig machine. The Keurig machine itself was invented in 1990, with its first machine manufactured in the 2000’s. (Keurig website) It’s very challenging in a modern world like todays’ not to be drawn to this neat, and useful device. Looking at it, it can brew a cup of coffee with just the touch of a button in seconds. There isn’t a massive glass jar like an old-fashioned coffee maker would have, instead just enough room for any mug of choice. Firstly, what really is a Keurig? Well, according to the Keurig website, it is a beverage brewing system used for both commercial, and home use. Instead of usual coffee machines requiring a switch to flip to brew, and a coffee filter, and filling the glass with water, the Keurig allows a small portion called a “K-Cup” which is used to brew the coffee. The middle aged, and adult populations are highly targeted with this invention. The ad imposes that our lives can be easier with the touch of a button, and boom our source of coffee is delivered within seconds. The advertisement is adequately showing the easy steps one can take to brew a cup of coffee, tea,
Keurig, Inc. was founded on “excellence”, which is the Dutch meaning of its name, and the innovative principle of allowing consumers to be able to make a single excellent cup of coffee whenever they wanted it at home or work with their K-cup single cup brewing system. The Keurig system was such a hit in offices that the company knew the next step was to position themselves to sell units to individuals for use in their homes. At home coffee brewers were always faced with two things loose coffee grounds to clean up and coffee that never quite tasted right. The Keurig system would eliminate both of those issues for the
Keurig has been successful in selling its coffee brewing system to the office coffee segment (OCS) of the US market. This success led its leaders to ponder entering the consumer market. While making the move might seem like a reasonable next step in the development of the company core business, it also presents unique challenges.
Keurig Inc.’s main concern is how to obtain the position they want in the at-home coffee market
One of the biggest barriers from GMCR’s standpoint is that they realize they can possible build up sales and marketing for the Keurig system once they start producing and endorsing the product. They are capable of doing so because of the position that GMCR is in as an emerging
Keurig should insist on their plan to launch the new Keurig-Cup even if the GMCR holds the opposite view since it can protect the profits of KAD and roasters when new products are introduced to the market. If Keurig differentiates the at-home market from office market, the previous office brewer users could not go to the direct commercial channel to purchase K-Cups at a lower price (if the at-home used Cups is cheaper). It won’t cause the customer loss of OCS
Green Mountain Coffee Roaster’s Keurig Single Brew system is dominating the U.S. market with an overwhelming market share. Analysts expect sales of single-cup brewing systems to continue to grow in the U.S. and competitors are eyeing a piece of the pie. An analysis of Keurig’s current position, based on Michael E. Porters 5-Forces, highlights a number of key areas of opportunity and risk for the company. Handled correctly, the Keurig product line should continue its growth, however, a number of significant pitfalls threaten its dominance.
Hirotaro Higuchi (the protagonist), and CEO of Asahi Breweries, Ltd. must decide if he should increase its production and packaging capacity to meet the supply demands of their distributors, due to the company’s recent developments in the beer industry. Asahi Breweries has launched and seized a huge section of the dry beer market, ensuing from sales growth of 71.9% in comparison to the industry’s growth of 7.6%. A proposal has been made for, increasing their production capacity to 2,100,000 kiloliters to accommodate the recent shortages to their distributors. He has suggested an investment proposal plan of 230 billion yen within two years (1989 to 1990), to increase their brewing and packaging capacity by 30%. Hirotaro Higuchi must decide if he will welcome or dismiss this proposal. “Guiding change may be the ultimate test of a leader- no business survives over the long term if it can’t reinvent itself” (Kotter, 2007).