Few brands are as synonymous with single-serve coffee at home as Keurig. But after more than three decades on the market, Keurig had never launched pods containing its own branded coffee — until now.
The home brewing system used by millions of consumers is finally wading into coffee with the recent launch of the Keurig Coffee Collective, a premium line aimed at drawing more shoppers into the brand and responding to the public’s fast-growing interest in upscale brews.
“It felt like a very natural evolution to shift from coffee makers into coffee,” Christine van den Broeck, vice president of Keurig Brand Marketing at Keurig Dr Pepper, said in an interview. “But we absolutely want consumers to understand that it isn’t just another coffee.”
For years, the beverage giant held off on launching a Keurig coffee brand. The company first wanted to make sure the Keurig name “had the standing and brand power” for a coffee product to succeed, van den Broeck said.
Executives also wanted the launch to be different and unique enough that it would stand out in the market and “bring the right households into our system.” Once Keurig decided to move forward, it took about two years for the coffee to go from concept to market, van den Broeck noted.
Keurig has more than 80 coffee brands on its platform that it either owns, licenses or partners with, including Dunkin’, Folgers, Cinnabon, McCafé and Starbucks.
Keurig was founded in 1992 when two engineers approached what was then Green Mountain Coffee Roasters about developing a single-cup brewing system.
The coffee maker, now owned by Keurig Dr Pepper, has grown into a multi-billion-dollar business, making up roughly 40% of Keurig Dr Pepper’s net sales. Millions of cups are brewed every day by the roughly 40 million Americans who own a Keurig brewer, according to the company.
Optional Caption
Joe Raedle via Getty Images
But in recent years, the unit has struggled as competition in the sector heats up.
Keurig sales in 2025 were largely unchanged from $4 billion in 2024 as better pricing offset a drop in volume and product mix. Still, sales in the segment are down $230 million from 2019. Keurig Dr Pepper announced last August it would buy JDE Peet’s for $18 billion to boost its struggling coffee business.
In creating what it views as a different premium ground coffee, the Keurig Coffee Collective brand focused first on the commodity itself. It partnered with internal coffee experts, including a coffee chemist and a sensory scientist, to create five blends. The coffee Keurig uses is ground to a higher density to deliver 30% more product in each pod compared to a typical K-Cup, creating a richer flavor profile.
Keurig also leaned into premiumization when it came to packaging. The golden-colored box that holds the pods touts the technique that allows for the higher density, displays the signature of the individual who created the flavor and describes notes highlighting what the product tastes like. Each of the individual K-Cup Pods are gold colored to further enhance the premium feel.
“This package alone is very disruptive on a single-serve coffee ship where everything else looks the same,” van den Broeck said. “We made sure to bring those premium elements to the packaging so that as consumers are introduced to the coffee, especially in a retail setting, they understand what’s different.”
Keurig launched Keurig Coffee Collective on its website in November and started shipping it to retailers a month later. Van den Broeck says the company is seeing “great results early” and that it expects that momentum to continue.
“We knew consumers wanted this coffee, and now that it’s on the market, we are being proven correct,” she added.
Keurig Coffee Collective plans to launch more flavors, including limited-time offerings that are seasonal or “culturally relevant.” Van den Broeck said once the collection is further established on the market, Keurig could opt to explore other opportunities for the brand.
Keurig Dr Pepper is optimistic that the new line could “further elevate the brand’s coffee credentials” and spur more consumers to purchase a Keurig brewer, deepening the brand’s household penetration.
The Keurig equity is “incredibly valuable” and has proven to be one of the “biggest strategic” advantages for the company in launching its own coffee line, van den Broeck said.
“Bringing consumers from Keurig as a coffee maker to Keurig as a coffee master wouldn’t be possible without the brand’s power and equity, giving us permission to compete, not only in a new category, but in a premium segment,” she said. “This was a move we knew we wanted to make, but we also knew we had to make it at the right time and with the right product.”
