Keurig had the bright idea of trying to make it impossible to brew coffee with its machines unless the pods were officially-approved by them. The result was a well-deserved failure in the marketplace, but now the company is being "bailed out" by the owners of Peet's and Stumptown.
To try to win back favor with its customers, Keurig said it would bring the My K-Cup back, a reusable filter that let customers brew their preferred coffee in the appliance. Still, the company struggled through the rest of the year.
"Keurigs's coffee pods and single-serve machines redefined the U.S. market, but by last year, sales were stagnating and private-label makers of coffee pods were a competitive threat," the Wall Street Journal reported. "Keurig's revenue in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 26 fell 4% to $4.52 billion, while profit slid 16% to $498 million.
It seems rare that customers so brutally punish a company for its hostility to them—especially when they are addicted to the product.
