Starbucks Green Mountain Website : An Innovative, Technology- And Values Based, Personal Beverage System Company

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.

A recent primary research survey has found that 70% of occasional coffee drinkers view the Mr. Coffee brand as an inferior or budget coffee brewing device that does not make a superior cup of coffee (Appendix, Opinion survey). Brands such as Keurig, Cuisinart, and DeLonghi inspire more thoughts of quality coffee than Mr. Coffee. Other consumers are opting to spend several dollars per cup of coffee at coffee houses such as Starbucks, Caribou Coffee, Dunkin Donuts, and even McDonalds (Appendix, Opinion survey).

The alluring aroma of freshly brewed java is both tantalizing and calming to the senses, so much so, that most individuals are unable to fathom a morning or a day without a cup of fragrant, hot coffee in hand. Coffee is one of life’s little indulgences that have become a necessity for some, who find it increasing difficult to live without, as a result, Keurig created an innovative, and unique form of preparation. The Keurig machine makes it possible for a single serving of coffee, tea, hot chocolate, or water without the need to clean the machine in between its use. It eliminates the “stale-tasting” waste that results from the remnants of old coffee, which no coffee drinker desires, and it eradicates the need to clean the pot or brew basket, all this in less than a minute!

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.

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

In October Bunn, a leading commercial beverage equipment producer, launched its home version of its single-serve coffee machine called MyCafé. Unfortunately for Keurig, the MyCafé is the first to capitalize on the expiration of Keurig’s patent on

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (GMCR) was founded in 1981 as a small café and combined with Keurig in 2006 (About GMCR, 2004-2009). GMCR produces specialty coffee and coffee makers; Keurig is the maker of a single cup coffee maker as well as specialty teas and coffees. Keurig was founded in 1998 on the concept that one should be able to make coffee one cup at a time rather than one pot at a time (Coffee.org, unknown). Today, GMCR has acquired and merged with several specialty coffee brewers and Keurig

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

People love to drink coffee. Coffee shops, independently owned or chains are every corner. Statistics show that people are taking more coffee every day. It is a very profitable business.

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

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

Former Starbucks Executive Scott Bedbury once said “Brands need to communicate that they are along for the ride. They are made of flesh and emotion. That they are made possible by people” (10 Quotes from Starbucks Executives, 2010, para. 6). Starbucks’ beliefs in customer service, community solitude, and a strong business core stretch far behind just a belief in a quality caffeinated product. “We make sure everything we do honors that connection – from our commitment to the highest quality coffee in the world, to the way we engage with our customers and communities to do business responsibly” (About Us, 2011, para. 4). Thus, this commitment is the motivation behind Marketing Team A’s proposed

The company has a focus on innovation through an emphasis of introducing new products and coffees such as “instant coffee” Via which generated a large sales growth of over 200 million. These new products consistently help Starbucks evolve as a

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