The founders of Keurig Inc. created the company to develop an innovative technique which allows customers to brew one perfect cup of gourmet coffee at a time. In this case, the CEO Nick Lazaris along with the other leaders of Keurig Inc. must determine how to successfully enter the at-home-market for use at customers’ homes, while maintaining a healthy relationship with Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (GMCR) and Van Houtte. GMCR and Van Houtte are two of the company’s main roaster partners that own a 70% stake in Keurig, so they want the business to succeed but are a little apprehensive about the company’s marketing and pricing strategies. Reviewing the company’s distribution and channel strategies may help determine the appropriateness of the strategies in the current market and if the company needs to make adjustments to their strategies. Also determining Keurig Inc.’s pricing strategies for consumer sales and aids the business in determining if their pricing strategy is appropriate for the current market. Lastly, identifying promotions for consumer sales helps Lazaris and the other leaders of Keurig Inc. determine if they must change their promotions to obtain the maximum profit from at-home-market sales. Keurig Inc. Keurig Inc. founded in 1992, manufactures and designs single-cup brewing systems for use in commercial offices, food service, medical offices, and home environments (Keurig Inc., 2014). In June of 2006, Keurig Inc. began operating as a subsidiary of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (Keurig Inc., 2014). The company also produces gourmet coffee, hot cocoa, ice beverages, and tea in different K-Cup portion brand packs. The company uses a network of national and local retailers as well as grocery stores ... ... middle of paper ... ...opriateness in the current market and if they need to make adjustments to their strategies. Also determining Keurig Inc.’s pricing strategies for consumer sales and aids the company in determining if their pricing strategy is appropriate for the current market. Lastly, identifying promotions for consumer sales helps Lazaris and the other leaders of Keurig Inc. determine if they must change their promotions to obtain the maximum profit from at-home-market sales. Works Cited Cravens, D. W., & Piercy, N. F. (2009). Strategic marketing (9th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Company. Hooley, G., Piercy, N. F., & Nicoulau, B. (2008). Marketing strategy and competitive positioning (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Joseph, C. (2014). Consumer sales promotion techniques. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/consumer-sales-promotion-techniques-1035.html
Geoff Herzog is the product manager for coffee development at Kraft Foods Canada. After reviewing successful results of single-serve coffee pod systems, he wondered whether it would be successful in other areas. It was July 6, 2004, and Herzog had just learned that Kraft Foods North America was planning an aggressive launch of coffee pods in the United States. He then had only a month to decide whether or not the company should proceed with a simultaneous launch in Canada, or await the U.S. results.
Bearden, William O., Thomas N. Ingram, and Raymond W. LaForge. Marketing: Principles & Perspectives, third edition. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2001.
Drinking coffee has been a popular tradition for many years and will always remain a timeless convention. For coffee consumers, that first sip of caffeine in the morning is the highlight of their day, the boost they need to keep going, or the simple pleasure of enjoying a moment of peace. Coffee can be made with several different devices, comes in many different flavors, and can be enjoyed almost anywhere. Despite the various options offered by coffee companies, there is one thing that remains common among users – many are dependent on this addictive brew. Dependency is important for companies when it comes to their product because it produces consistent sales. Keurig Green Mountain not only produces coffee which is already a reliant product
Kotler, P., & Armstrong, G. (2012). Principles of marketing (14th ed., pp. 2-33). Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.
Philip Kotler, Kevin Lane Keller. (2009) Marketing Management (13th Edition). Upper Saddle River, NJ : Pearson Education, Inc. pp.510-513
Keurig and its K-cup concept revolutionized a market that had been around for over five hundred years to allow consumers to brew an excellent cup of coffee in their own home. Before the K-cup concept was introduced by the company, consumers had to measure the desired amount of coffee themselves and were largely constrained to coffee makers that would brew only multiple cups of coffee. Everyone in America has heard of Keurig but not many people know the history of the company behind bringing this product to the market. Green Mountain Coffee was a largely regional coffee company with loyal customers throughout the Northeast United States but not much market penetration elsewhere. It was not until the company purchased the Keurig concept from its creator John Sylvan that it was able to propel itself to the international company it is today. This new product revolutionized the coffee market and can now be found in thirteen percent of American workplaces and account for twenty-five percent of the coffee makers sold in the United States (Sozzi, 2015; McGinn, 2011; Ingram,
A passage I found on Keurig’s company website says the following about their KOLD product. “We view our initial KOLD system launch as a pioneering innovation. We learned from consumer feedback that while the KOLD system delivered great tasting cold beverages, our initial execution of KOLD did not fully deliver on their expectations, particularly around size, speed, and value. Because of this, we are discontinuing the first generation of our Keurig KOLD system. While we work to incorporate our learnings into future beverage systems, we are offering a refund to consumers who purchased a KOLD system”. Essentially, their system had flaws that consumers were quick to react towards. Their target market for this system consists of anyone who has interest
Armstrong, Gary, and Philip Kotler. Marketing: an introduction. 11th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2013. Print.
Krispy Kreme Case Study Question 1. The chief element of Krispy Kreme's strategy is to deliver a better doughnut and to appeal to customers in new ways. They have taken great steps to insure customer satisfaction from the use of their proprietary flour recipe to their automated doughnut making machines. They have chosen to target mainly markets with 100,000 households. They also were exploring smaller-sized stores for secondary markets.
The company started its activity in 1971 as small coffee shop located in Seattle specialized in selling whole arabica coffee beans. After being taken over by Howard Schultz in 1982, following a rapid and impressive growth, by mid 2002 the company was the dominant specialty-coffee brand in North America, running about 4,500 stores, 400 international stores and 930 licenses.
Kotler, P., & Keller, K. (2012). A Framework for Marketing Management (Fifth ed.). Harlow: Pearson Education Limited.
Starbucks is one of the most recognized brands in the world. Since 1971 Starbucks has become synonymous with coffee which they used to embody the brand and create a lifestyle behind it. Starbucks wants the world to know they have more to offer than coffee and are committed to meeting the needs of society. “We’re not just passionate purveyors of coffee, but everything else that goes along with a full and rewarding coffeehouse experience. It’s not unusual to see people coming to Starbucks to chat, meet up or even work” (Starbucks). In addition to coffee Starbucks locations keep a customer base by offering free Wi-Fi, music, and partnerships with Barnes and Nobles throughout the country. Starbucks is aware that competition is gaining ground since many fast-food chains have upgraded their coffee menus trying to mimic their style. Also coffee-houses/shops are opening who have adopted the idea of community and become just as popular and profitable. The company realized it reached a plateau and needed to develop new marketing and strategies to be competitive, retain, and gain customers. In order to remain competitive companies must stay innovative and reinvent their brand according to changes in society. A company that focuses on one advantage can limit their profit potential. Starbucks has recently decided to broaden its potential and enter the market by adding wine, beer, and small entrees to the evening menus at its independent locations. This move is one of its riskiest ventures to date, to make it possible Starbucks marketing executives want to use its most intangible asset “the brand”. The brand name may be intangible (literally, it cannot be touched), but it is a durable asset whose value increases as consumers associate it with...
Armstrong G. & Kotler P. (2007) Marketing: An Introduction 8E Upper Saddle River, NJ Pearson Prentice Hall Publishers
Cravens, D. W., & Piercy, N. F. (2009). Strategic marketing (9th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Kotler, P., & Keller, K. (2012). Marketing management (14th ed., Global ed.). Boston, [Mass.: Pearson.