Single-Cup Brew Beverage Products in the U.S.: Coffee Pods and Beyond

The Keurig K-Cup brewer from Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) revolutionized the single-serve coffee market, which posted a compound annual growth rate of over 75% between 2007 and 2012 in tracked mass-market channels.  Total U.S. retail coffee market dollar sales grew 10% in 2012 thanks to a dramatic 82%  jump in the single-cup brew segment, which reached $1.8 billion in 2012.

Proven market performance and the expiration of an important K-Cup patent in September 2012 has led to a new round of marketplace competition and opportunity, motivating long-standing category participants to step up their competitive strategies.  An important feature of this competition has been an influx of private label and unlicensed beverage pods that work in Keurig K-Cup brewers.

New, more sophisticated and specialized machine technology for single-cup brewers keeps elevating the quality of coffee made at home, while single-serve beverage manufacturers and marketers continue to broaden the array of beverages specifically designed for these machines, increasing the range of successful products, brand entrants, and satisfied consumers. Although coffee beverages still predominate for single-serve brewers, other beverages including tea, cocoa and chocolate, hot and cold fruit drinks, and specialty wellness beverages are increasingly available.

Overall, several factors will continue to  spur the growth of the single-cup brew beverage market, including a nation of dedicated and increasingly discerning coffee drinkers; consumer desire to recreate coffee shop quality at home;    continued adoption of single-serve brewers in offices and hotels; innovations in brewer technology supporting enhanced beverage quality; a large selection of brewers, many of which are aggressively marketed and attractively priced; the popularity of single-serve brewers as a hot kitchen gadget, well suited for holiday gift giving; a wide selection of single-serve beverage options that continues to expand; and the recent increase in published reports of the health benefits associated with coffee consumption.

Single-Cup Brew Beverage Products in the U.S. spotlights the dynamic single-serve retail beverage market, featuring proprietary Packaged Facts consumer survey data to identify the types of single-cup brew beverages used, when and where they are consumed, and where they were purchased. Report coverage includes a discussion of the drivers fueling growth in the single-cup brew beverage market; single-cup brew coffee market size for 2013 through 2016 for the total and private label market;  single-cup brew coffee market shares by manufacturer, brand and retail channels; review and discussion of single-cup brew product availability across channels and markets, detailing product assortment and pricing at 10 national retailer outlets across the United States; review of single-cup brewer model introductions and associated functionality and consumer benefits; review of new beverage introductions and partnerships with single-cup brewer manufacturers; insight into future single-cup brw product development focus; and a critical look at the environmental impact of single-serve beverages and initiatives to enhance sustainability.

Brewers and beverages manufactured by or for Keurig, Starbucks, J.M. Smucker, Kraft, and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (CBTL) are among the equipment and products analyzed in this report.