DRM K-Cup for Keurig?

(3/5/2014) Will consumers buy proprietary k-cup coffee just for the Keurig coffee maker? Well, I think Keurig may overestimate its muscle to push consumers around. Time will tell. You may wonder why Keurig wants to take such a risky move. Well, Keurig is selling its coffee machine cheap expecting consumers will buy its k-cups. However, coffee is not like printer toner and people have very different tastes on their preferred coffee. So Keurig cannot really secure its profit from selling its K-kups. Consumers can buy Starbucks or other brandname's cups. There are plenty of knock-offs in the cup and in the coffee machines as well. This disruptive innovation to people's coffee drinking behavior may turn out to be short glory days for Keurig.

The Success of K-Cups

(10/1/2013) When you walk in the aisle of a supermarket and look for some coffee, what do you notice? K-cups are taking over the shelf. Keurig's success is well established now. I found two articles talking about its success: THE K-CUP PHENOMENON from CoffeeTalk, and The Buzz Machine-- The inside story of Keurig's rise from Boston.com. Keurig's story can be used for class discussion in the topic of product innovation. No matter how easy and convenient it is, my favorite coffee is still my morning french press. :)