Keurig's New Coffee Machine Could Be The Biggest Hit Since The George Foreman Grill
The new $189 machine, called Keurig 2.0, allows users to brew up to 30 ounces of coffee at once using a K-Cup that's about twice the size of its traditional coffee pods. It's already available online and is expected to hit store shelves in the coming weeks.
"There are countless retail legends about the [holiday] season being saved by a Salad Shooter, Fry Baby or similar item that was must-have in December and can't-find by the following March," writes Warren Shoulberg in the industry newsletter The Robin Report. "And certainly, big-box stores [such as Target and Wal-Mart] still nostalgically recall the heyday of the single greatest selling small electrics product of all time: The George Foreman Lean Mean Grilling Machine."
More than 100 million George Foreman grills have sold since 1994, according to Foreman's book, Knockout Entrepreneur, which was published in 2009. A 2002 New York Times article called the grill "the largest-selling household appliance in the history of the world. Ever."
"Retailers would kill for another Foreman Grill," Shoulberg writes. "They are hoping Keurig 2.0 is it."
Keurig 2.0 could fall flat, however. Two years ago, the company launched another machine that made larger servings called The Vue, and it never caught on.
Shoulberg blames The Vue's failure on the fact that "It was expensive [and] it didn't have the endless choice of flavors and blends the single-serve machines offer."
The Keurig 2.0 has some new customizable options that allow users to adjust the temperature and strength of each batch of coffee. The machine also remembers preferences with the touch of a "favorite" button and it still has the capacity to brew smaller batches using regular-sized K-Cups.
As we reported back in June, people seem pretty excited about the new machine.