All Star Incentive Marketing knows incentives, and the power of premium brand name merchandise is just one of the tools that help us stay ahead in the industry.

One of our favorite brands, Keurig, By Green Mountain Coffee Roasters has shown some great success in sales, safety, and wellness incentive programs.  Keurig giveaways have driven high traffic into hosted casino events throughout the years.  It has also been a strong brand for loyalty programs like those used in investment and loan promotions.  The Keurig brewers, as well as their K-cup assortment packs, and other accessories, have reigned as a forefront brand since its introduction in 1998.

But they have some plans to change things up in 2014.  Former Green Mountain Coffee Roasters has newly adopted the name Keurig Green Mountain.  And this is not the only change coming this year.  Keurig Green Mountain plans introduce a new brewer in fall 2014, called Keurig 2.0 that will replace the existing lineup.

According to Businessweek, “Keurig 2.0 brewers will use proprietary “interactive technology,” meaning the machines will have a reader that scans Green Mountain-licensed packs for specific “recipe” instructions for a particular kind of coffee, tea, or other beverage, much as current Keurig Vue brewers do. Unlike the existing machines, Keurig 2.0 will also be able to make more than a single cup of coffee.”

This new technology will give Keurig back the reins in the ability to brew only licensed K-cups.  There has been some debate over the issue, even some law suits filed by those stating that they are locking out rivals.  Green Mountain spokeswoman Suzanne DuLong stands firm.  “Because Keurig 2.0 machines are designed to optimize the beverage with specific recipes, it is critical for beverage quality that the system only brews Keurig brand packs.”

According to the recent story on www.keuriggreenmountain.com, “All of our approximately 50 owned, licensed, partner and private label brands that exist today in our Keurig® system – more than 290 different beverages in total – will be offered in our Keurig 2.0 system.” “If that weren’t enough, we also are actively engaged in discussions with even more brands to welcome them into the Keurig^® system so they and their customers can benefit from our innovation pipeline.  We are confident that our ever-expanding portfolio of brand and beverage options will continue to delight all consumers – across a wide range of taste profiles and prices.”

Keurig Green Mountain further states that, “We’re heard it from Keurig^® brewer owners and non-owners: the brewer functionality they want most is the ability to brew both a single serving and a pot of coffee from one system with Keurig^® speed, convenience, and brand choice. Our next generation Keurig^® 2.0 brewers will do just that.” You can watch the video here.

I have to agree, I most excited about having an option to brew a larger size.  As much as I love my Keurig brewer, the ability to brew an “old fashioned” (ha) pot of coffee on a Saturday morning with my Keurig is welcomed additional feature!