As sales plummet, Keurig promises to bring back refillable K-cups

By Drew Prindle May 7, 2015

keurig brings back refillable kcups — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Back when Green Mountain Coffee Roasters first announced that it would be including a DRM-like system in its new line of single-serving Keurig coffee machines, practically everybody hated the idea except company execs. The new system was designed to block people from brewing coffee pods from other brands, and despite an overwhelmingly negative response from consumers, the company maintained that implementing this system was a good idea.

But now they’re singing a different tune. After sales of it’s DRM-equipped Keurig 2.0 machines dropped a whopping 23 percent compared to last year, the company is finally starting to realize it messed up and is taking steps to turn itself around. Moving forward, the company plans to bringing back reusable cups and allow users to brew whatever type of coffee they want, just like the good ol’ days.

In a Q2 earnings call, Keurig president and CEO Brian Kelley announced that the company will be reintroducing My K-cups: special, non-disposable pods that can be refilled with any type of loose coffee the user desires. “We heard loud and clear from consumers who really wanted the ‘My K-cup’ back,” Kelley said during a call with market analysts. “Quite honestly, we were wrong. We underestimated the passion the consumer had for this. We missed it. We shouldn’t have taken it away. We’re bringing it back.”

Don’t bother digging your old My K-Cups out of the back of the pantry, though. Even if you’ve still got one of the old models, Keurig 2.0 brewers will still require a new My K-Cup. “We are creating a My K-Cup designed specifically to work in Keurig 2.0,” a company spokesperson said.”Keurig 2.0 has a different pod receptacle, so prior My K-Cup models will not work in Keurig 2.0″

Basically, this means that Green Mountain is giving customers the ability to brew their java of choice, but isn’t doing away with the DRM-like system that blocks out competitor cups. Instead, it appears that the company plans on keeping the DRM system and aggressively pursuing unlicensed coffee brands so they can start producing compatible pods.

If you can’t beat ’em, force ’em to join you.

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Drew Prindle is an award-winning writer, editor, and storyteller who currently serves as Senior Features Editor for Digital…

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