Dunkin’ Brands has announced franchises will begin selling single-serving K-Cups for Keurig coffee makers. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters’ Keurig machines are popular in offices country-wide, as well as homes in Dunkin’s core New England market. Dunkin’ CEO Nigel Travis calls it “an East Coast phenomenon.” “The assumption is that lots of our Dunkin’ fans have a Keurig machine and that they’ve actually been using other brands. We clearly need to change that behavior,” he reports.
The new K-Cups will be supported by TV, print, radio, outdoor, and digital media advertising. There will also be a promotional giveaway, surprising 12 lucky coffee-lovers with a Keurig coffee maker, year’s supply of K-Cups, and a $1000 prize.
Green Mountain Coffee was founded in 1981 and began selling their popular Keurig coffee maker in 2006. Their success is reflected in their stock price, currently trading at $104.33, up from $31.01 this time last year. Dunkin’ Brands has also enjoyed recent success; their second-quarter earnings of $157 million are up 4.4% over last year’s.
But at our office we find ourselves asking… will Starbucks be next?
