Running Head: FUTURE OF GREEN MOUNTAIN COFFEE

Future of Green Mountain Coffee
Aaron Copeland, Richard Thompson, Katie Ensign, Sara Bullock
Central Washington University
Future of Brewing When a small sign was hung on a little cafe in Waitsfield, Vermont in 1981, nobody would have imagined that Green Mountain Coffee Roasters [GMCR] would become one of the world's leading specialty coffee makers. Through hard work, "Demand quickly grew beyond the walls of the café," and many other local companies requested GMCR coffee to offer their customers (GMCR, Company Overview, 2009, p. 1). Today, GMCR "is recognized as a leader in the specialty coffee industry for its award-winning coffees, innovative brewing technology and socially …show more content…

In 2006, GMCR acquisitioned Keurig, Inc., the creators of the K-Cup design. Following this acquisition GMCR, along with three other licensees, manufactured K-Cups for use in the Keurig brewers. One of the largest of these licensees was Dierdrich Coffee, who GMCR targeted for acquisition, and purchased, in May of 2010 after winning a bidding war against rival Peet’s Coffee and Tea (Hoover’s Overview). Through this acquisition and other partnerships, GMCR has added brands such as Gloria Jean’s Coffee, Timothy’s, Tully’s, and Newman’s Own which allow them to satisfy even more market segments’ needs. GMCR understands that diversifying its K-Cup varieties is essential since the cups and brewers can only succeed together. The success of the Keurig brewers is only possible with the success of the K-Cup packages used in them. Paired with the Keurig brewing systems for either the home or office, this small product is offering value to consumers through the ability to conveniently make a high-quality single cup of coffee in under a minute, with virtually no mess (Keurig website). This offers consumers an easy to use, very tidy, brewer that is different from the competition. One of the most important ways GMCR has differentiated themselves from their competition is by offering more than 250 different varieties of single-cup coffees, teas, and cocoas from numerous well-known and reputable brands from around