The Freeps gets it right in today’s story about the bundle of rapid-fire lawsuits coming at Green Mountain Keurig. They currently number 14, a dozen class action suits charging uncompetitive practices plus the original lawsuits filed by Treehouse and Rogers – who both prevailed in their previous lawsuits against Keurig. http://www.burlingtonfreepress…
If you buy the Keurig 2.0 (coming this fall) you can continue to fork over $50/pound for their Keurig pods, but you’ll no longer be able to use discount pods or your own coffee:
Lisa Smits of Fredericksburg, Va. is one of the hundreds of people complaining in various forums online, saying of the Keurig 2.0 in an email sent to the Burlington Free Press,
“This is like selling a toaster and in small print saying, ‘requires using our exclusive patented Wonder Bread.'”
Keurig’s sparkly new CEO from CocaCola Brian Kelley said not to worry, Keurig would be offering manufacturers of unlicensed pods the opportunity to “come into the system so they can be perfectly brewed too.” But
Jim Rogers, whose family-held company does about $100 million in sales annually, said he wasn’t interested in joining the ranks of licensed manufacturers.
“We want to compete,” he said.
“We think we can kick their butt.”
A pretrial conference in the TreeHouse lawsuit is scheduled for May 1.
Also today, Motley Fool dumps a big bucket of ice on Keurig’s OTHER new product coming this fall, Keurig Cold. http://www.fool.com/investing/…
The great little coffee company looks like it got too big and greedy. Its too bad they didn’t remove “Green Mountain” from their name when they added Keurig – so it didn’t have to get smeared far and wide.
Previously..
http://www.greenmountaindaily….
I am afraid you are missing the point that this company is not a coffee company. They do not give a hoot about coffee. Coffee is not the profit driver here.
Green Mtn Coffee business is a delivery system whose profit is driven by those little plastic cups that serve upscale truck stop coffee. PERIOD.
As for being a VERMONT company, please, that went the way of Ben and Jerry’s and Burton. These are international companies.
The most VERMONT company today is Heady Topper. Available only within a 20 miles radius of where it is brewed.
“looks like it got big and greedy.” You got that one right!
Katrinka & another great contribution to what appears to be GMD “kiosk row” sidebar & variety section of news items from near & far. Kind of a news bazaar.
As I’ve said, Keurig coffee is godawful — that ppl actually pay the increased cost of the “pods” for the shittiest coffee money can buy in is extremely puzzling.
If one wants convenience, brewing in advance & storing in vacuum carafe, or any carafe works great. Fresh coffee all day.
Just goes to show b/c it’s “new” doesn’t mean it’s an improvement.
secret. Discovered Folgers “Black Silk” — it is sometimes on sale for as little as $6.99 for the really large container. Extremely smooth for a dark roast, about as near gourmet as one can find for the run-of-the-mill in a grocery store.
I save the nifty stackable containers, package, store & stack our wood-stove ashes for icy conditions.
http://vtdigger.org/2014/04/17…
WHADDYA got to hide, K-CUP proliferators.. is there a secret substance you’ll be using to make your cold beverages??