New Keurig designed not to work with private label pods

Kroger, Meijer, Ahold and H-E-B are among the chains that will begin merchandising the new Keurig 2.0 hot beverage brewing system this week, according to a Keurig spokesperson.

The system  is different from earlier iterations of Keurig brewers in that it can brew a single cup or a four-cup carafe of coffee.

The brewing system was designed to take back some of the single-serve coffee business that was lost to private-label marketers when patents on Keurig technology expired two years ago. The machine leverages anti-counterfeit technology to ensure that it's only compatible with official K-Cups, according to a CNN blog post.

Kate Binette, senior public relations specialist from Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, the parent company of Keurig, couldn't tell me exactly how their new interactive technology would work -- and even if she did I'd probably have to take a 40-minute nap -- but I did get the basics.

"Each Keurig 2.0 brewer will have a camera that can 'read' a proprietary taggant material," Binette says, adding that it's similar to current anti-counterfeiting technology and will be "embedded on the lid of each Keurig brand pack."

Retailers have begun selling K-Cups that are designed to work with Keurig 2.0's brewing technology. Although Keurig 2.0 will only accept the new K-Cups (and K-Carafe packs), the new K-Cups are also compatible with older machines, according to a spokesperson for Keurig.

With the launch of Keurig 2.0, all K-Cup and K-Carafe packs that are on shelves have been converted to the new Keurig Brewing Technology. The new K-Cup pack lids have been manufactured since the beginning of 2014 for Keurig brand K-Cup packs. 

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