Books varying from small to large are precisely organized on bookshelves that line the room while various tables and couches are scattered throughout the expansive room. One student is franticly pounding on his keyboard while the girl next to him is contemplating her thoughts, paging through her textbook while listening to her earbuds, eyeing up the Keurig in the corner of the room. Leaned back into this back aching hardwood chair, I observe the two students nearby me; they each have a different expression on their face. One is pleasured by the smell of the coffee that spilled out of the Keurig into her cup, while the other student is fixed on typing his essay, a sweat drop trickling down his face. Gazing at each student my mood changed, I
The familiar aroma of coffee fills the air as I enter the not so common area. I feel very bewildered in the labyrinth of hallways searching for my classroom just like I had stepped into corn maze as a child. At last, I locate the secluded room tucked away inside the massive building. Even though the number on the door matches the number on my schedule I am still second guessing if I am in the right place. The door opened up as students poured out. Finally, I took my seat at the back, trying my hardest to sit down unnoticed. My hands were shaking as I wrote the class name at the top of my paper. After what seemed like ages the professor proceeded to
The alluring aroma of freshly brewed java is both tantalizing and calming to the senses, so much so, that most individuals are unable to fathom a morning or a day without a cup of fragrant, hot coffee in hand. Coffee is one of life’s little indulgences that have become a necessity for some, who find it increasing difficult to live without, as a result, Keurig created an innovative, and unique form of preparation. The Keurig machine makes it possible for a single serving of coffee, tea, hot chocolate, or water without the need to clean the machine in between its use. It eliminates the “stale-tasting” waste that results from the remnants of old coffee, which no coffee drinker desires, and it eradicates the need to clean the pot or brew basket, all this in less than a minute!
I sit at the polished wooden table covered with endless papers, some of them mine, others not. The dining room is hazy, only the laptop and essay are clear to me. For the most part, I write in dead silence; occasionally, the heater and my mother’s footsteps disturb this peace. My phone buzzes sporadically, text messages and sports alerts light up the screen a few feet away from me. “I should really turn that off,” I think to myself, “This only serves as a distraction.” The dust in the room causes me to sneeze, breaking my concentration here and there. Besides the dust, the air in the room smells like
After a while of sitting students’ eyes begin to burn from the bright fluorescent lights on the ceiling. One also begins to realize that not only are their eyes hurting but their back is as well from sitting in the small desk. A small plastic chair with a board attached to the right side, that’s what students sit in. One immediately feels bad for left handed people because writing with one’s right hand on the narrow board is hard enough as it is. With the desks being so cramped together students can only stretch out their legs so far before they hit the desk in front of them or run the risk of tripping the professor pacing a small portion of the floor in the front of the classroom. It’s warm in the classroom and only getting warmer making things even more uncomfortable.
The low ceiling cowered above and the black plastic chairs formed a restless crowd around me. From my seat, I could smell the acute scent of cleaning fluid, whiteboard markers, and the nauseating perfume of the girl sitting next to me. Like so many other students, she exuded concentration. Her brows were drawn as her hand moved rapidly over the testing booklet, only pausing to reposition herself or cast an almost imperceptible sidelong glance. The effortlessness of her actions furthered my anxiety as I began tapping my foot uneasily against the speckled linoleum floor. Through the dusty shades that hung precariously in front the only window in the room, I could see the outline of a solitary building shadowed by the dense gray fog that clung to the courtyard outside. At that moment, I would have given anything to be able to run and scream at the top of my lungs. I had an inexplicable urge to break free from the confinement of that room and what it
Although the company is known for their coffee, they also drive a great portion of their revenue from baked good sales, which differs greatly from the Keurig Green Mountain strategy. Dunkin does compete against Dunkin intensely in the New England market, as both companies were founded and based in the area.
Keurig should launch the Keurig-Cup in the at-home market and continue to use the K-Cup in the commercial market. The reasons of separating these two series are listed as follows:
In recent months many new single-serve coffee brewers have come to market in the United States. These new competitors are offering consumers many new choices and variations of a single-serve coffee brewers. In turn, this is stepping up pressure Keurig to keep up with its competitors and the markets demand. The three competitors that pose the biggest threat to Keurig are Bunn’s MyCafé unit, Starbucks’ Verismo unit, and the Esio beverage system which is backed by Wal-Mart.
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (GMCR) was founded in 1981 as a small café and combined with Keurig in 2006 (About GMCR, 2004-2009). GMCR produces specialty coffee and coffee makers; Keurig is the maker of a single cup coffee maker as well as specialty teas and coffees. Keurig was founded in 1998 on the concept that one should be able to make coffee one cup at a time rather than one pot at a time (Coffee.org, unknown). Today, GMCR has acquired and merged with several specialty coffee brewers and Keurig
The successful market of Starbucks and other successful coffee houses has made it okay to spend $1.50 or more for a good quality coffee and even more for specialty drinks. Considering the trend in successful coffee houses and the cost of the drinks, it opened the door for Keurig to produce high quality low maintenance units for the home and office. Keurig conducted multiple market research polls to reach its price points, ensuring that once units are released they are something that customers will buy without hesitation. Price points were anywhere in the range of $199 to $299 (Cravens &
Keurig Inc has been founded on an amazing idea that coffee making systems that uses individual portion packs of freshly roasted and ground coffee with unique coffee maker designed to brew perfect cup of coffee at a time. At that time there are already established gourmet coffee houses like Starbucks, which is making coffee consumers to spend more money with an average of $ 1.50 or more for a cup of gourmet coffee. This change is consumer behavior created opportunity to Keurig to offer gourmet coffees by a single-cup in offices in 1998. Within a span of four years (1996-2000), Keurig have noticed sales increased by 40% in US at home coffee market. With these facts Keurig´s management got convinced, to develop an at home one-cup coffee brewer especially for gourmet coffee lovers.
In fact, the case alludes to this fact where it says that “Office managers are all about eliminating headaches”.
Premium launching at $299 to cover costs incurred in R&D. Competitive positioning based onspeed, convenience/ cleanliness of preparation, ease of usage and taste consistency. The profit
The Dining Hall at State University is bustling with kids in sweatshirts and pajama pants. The make-your-own Belgian waffle line is long and students are complaining about the lack of forks. Phrases like “I got wicked smashed last night,” and “I really need a cup of coffee” can be heard around the tables. It’s typical Sunday morning on campus.
It is essential that Green Mountain’s negotiation succeed because the value proposition that comes along a new product like the portion pack system. Keurig is a start up coming looking to expand its business venture and GMCR central location is in the Northeast and they were also looking to expand the company’s geographic existence. With expansion ideas in mind as a common ground for both companies, it would be smart and beneficial for the companies to work towards this specific goal. Keurig would make it feasible for GMCR to sell the K-cups it will eventually produce in parts of the country they are not already connected to once the Keurig goes national. There is major room for them to grow and to be