Dive Brief:
- Keurig Green Mountain has recently been in the headlines for both positive and negative reasons.
- Keurig now corners about one-third of retail sales for the U.S. coffee market.
- Its ubiquitous single-serving pods, also known as K-cups, however, pose a great threat to the environment. The number of easily disposable pods Keurig sold last year could have circled the earth over 10 times.
Dive Insight:
What's interesting is that with this environmental controversy brewing, K-cup co-founder John Sylvan says he now sometimes regrets inventing the single-serving pods. Those pods have caught on not just for coffee and other hot beverages, but for hot food and soon cold beverages with the new Keurig Kold device. In fact, Sylvan doesn't even own a Keurig — what does that say about the mounting concerns for K-cup opponents?
