Re:Owner of Peet's to buy Keurig for almost $14B
by Johnny555 on Monday December 07, 2015 @02:22PM
(#10691927)
When I read this, I thought you were mistaken on the cost of the pods, but sure enough, they cost from $1.00 to over $3.00 per pod (on Amazon).
I can buy Coke cans at Costco for around 35 cents/can or close to 3 cents an ounce. Why would Keurig think that I'd want to pay 5+ times more for the "convenience" of buying a big expensive machine to let me "make" coke at home!?
And those capsules look big (which is probably because there's so much sugar in soda, they can't make them tiny. Probably about 1/4 the size of a 8 ounce can of coke.
Re:Owner of Peet's to buy Keurig for almost $14B
by beau26 on Monday December 07, 2015 @02:26PM
(#10691963)
The pods are awful. My friend, who buys lots of useless stuff, has described the Kold as "the most useless thing I've ever bought."
A mini-fridge + 20 cases of Coke is cheaper upfront and in the long run.
Re:Owner of Peet's to buy Keurig for almost $14B
by profmonocle on Monday December 07, 2015 @03:20PM
(#10692385)
Plus it doesn't take 90 seconds to get a can out of the fridge!
Re:Owner of Peet's to buy Keurig for almost $14B
by cakes on Monday December 07, 2015 @05:28PM
(#10693246)
That seems to be some reviewers thoughts as well - save the trouble and buy a mini-fridge
Re:Owner of Peet's to buy Keurig for almost $14B
by stevesearer on Monday December 07, 2015 @02:29PM
(#10691994)
If you have a soda fountain, you can buy a 5 gallon pod of Coke syrup for $81 which will make you 320 12-oz drinks: http://www.samsclub.com/sams/coca-cola-5-gallon-bag-in-box-f...
Re:Owner of Peet's to buy Keurig for almost $14B
by ryan-c on Monday December 07, 2015 @03:05PM
(#10692258)
That seems to work out to around 25 cents per 12 floz which is not a whole lot cheaper than the cans from costco.
A four pack of two-liters is $4: http://www.samsclub.com/sams/coke-4-2-liter-bottle/prod96004... which is 18 cents per 12 floz.
Re:Owner of Peet's to buy Keurig for almost $14B
by Someone1234 on Monday December 07, 2015 @03:19PM
(#10692373)
But it takes up less space, you don't need to resupply as often, and you can set the mixer on your tap to add more or less ratio of syrup to water.
Re:Owner of Peet's to buy Keurig for almost $14B
by BHSPitMonkey on Monday December 07, 2015 @02:50PM
(#10692149)
Not to mention the aluminum cans are infinitely more recyclable than the used pods are.
Re:Owner of Peet's to buy Keurig for almost $14B
by bdcravens on Monday December 07, 2015 @02:30PM
(#10692003)
I suspect it's a licensing thing. The Soda Stream lets you make a liter of soda for about the price of a generic soda (when you factor in CO2 + syrup)
As for the size of the pod, a cap of syrup smaller than one 12 oz drink's pod can make that same liter (though the Kold doesn't have a CO2 cartridge, so I'm sure the tech transfers the fizziness to the pod somehow)
Re:Owner of Peet's to buy Keurig for almost $14B
by ryan-c on Monday December 07, 2015 @02:48PM
(#10692133)
FWIW, you can buy a sodastream unit for ~$70 and then for another $200 to $300 get a conversion kit and a large co2 cylinder and from then on the cost of carbonation works out to less than three cents per liter. Not sure what the syrup cost is since I only use mine for sparkling water.
Re:Owner of Peet's to buy Keurig for almost $14B
by conradev on Monday December 07, 2015 @02:56PM
(#10692194)
I just wanted to comment to say that that is a brilliant idea. I only use my Soda Stream for sparking water as well, but I pay about 25 cents per liter for the standard refills.
Re:Owner of Peet's to buy Keurig for almost $14B
by ryan-c on Monday December 07, 2015 @03:10PM
(#10692306)
I have a co2doctor[0,1] kit, a 20lb capacity tank from amazon (bought new - you can get them used but then you don't know where they've been or how clean they are...) and filled it for about $30 at Carbonic Service[2] in Santa Clara.
0. http://co2doctor.com/ (site down at the time this comment was posted)
1. http://www.ebay.com/sch/co2doctor/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg...
Re:Owner of Peet's to buy Keurig for almost $14B
by redfalcon6 on Monday December 07, 2015 @09:24PM
(#10694380)
Or skip the sodastream and special kit and buy a "carbonator cap" for 15 bucks. That, a tank, a fitting, and a regulator and you're good to go.
Re:Owner of Peet's to buy Keurig for almost $14B
by bpicolo on Monday December 07, 2015 @03:15PM
(#10692346)
Helps that sodastream doesn't try to chill the drink, which you can just do ahead of time by refrigerating the water
Re:Owner of Peet's to buy Keurig for almost $14B
by Someone1234 on Monday December 07, 2015 @03:16PM
(#10692354)
I like Soda Stream and own one, but the syrups aren't very good if you ask me. I'd happily pay more for Syrup if it was the branded stuff that tastes right.
Part of the reason why, I suspect, is because they aren't aiming for 1:1 parity, they want "healthier" so they can put it on a billboard. Ultimately result is that they taste like diet drinks (only with more sugar).
Re:Owner of Peet's to buy Keurig for almost $14B
by bdcravens on Monday December 07, 2015 @04:03PM
(#10692678)
I agree. I have one, and about the only want I can tolerate is their Cola Zero. However, I've since went back to Coke Zero cans, and was excited by the Kold, but the price really is a non-starter.
Re:Owner of Peet's to buy Keurig for almost $14B
by AjithAntony on Tuesday December 08, 2015 @10:57AM
(#10697101)
>And those capsules look big (which is probably because there's so much sugar in soda, they can't make them tiny. Probably about 1/4 the size of a 8 ounce can of coke.
Also "carbonation beads stored within the pod"
Re:Owner of Peet's to buy Keurig for almost $14B
by sliverstorm on Monday December 07, 2015 @02:44PM
(#10692110)
Who knows, maybe Coca Cola is playing a long game, and hope to refine the technology enough that one day they can ship around only the dry ingredients, and save $$$ on shipping all the water in each can?
Re:Owner of Peet's to buy Keurig for almost $14B
by askafriend on Monday December 07, 2015 @02:50PM
(#10692148)
That'd be an insane amount of money being saved if that really did happen.
Re:Owner of Peet's to buy Keurig for almost $14B
by gonzo on Monday December 07, 2015 @05:36PM
(#10693319)
Like they do with their Freestyle product?
Re:Owner of Peet's to buy Keurig for almost $14B
by sliverstorm on Monday December 07, 2015 @05:58PM
(#10693437)
In essence, yeah. Probably the catch is the vending machine style approach just doesn't work in homes or small offices- a Keurig approach, where the user supplies the raw materials packet, would be more suitable.
Some highlights:
* A single-serve soda maker.
* The machine costs $369
* Each 6oz flavor pod costs between $1 and $1.50
* It takes 90-seconds to make a single 6oz drink
* It takes 2-hours to come on and cool down enough to be ready to make a drink.
Even without the cost of the machine itself, you're paying about $0.20/oz of soda (which people say tastes slightly worse than the canned variety), compared to $0.12/oz just buying it by the can. Add the nearly $400 purchase price, the fact that it'd take 6-minutes to "brew" 4-cups for, say, a family, and the gigantic machine on your kitchen counter, and it's hard to imagine why anyone would buy this thing.
Keurig's coffee machines make sense. But at some point during the $200M 6-year development cycle for the Kold, someone should have stepped back and said, "Wait, this is a horrible idea and we should stop."
EDIT: I should add that Coke has invested a total of $2.4 Billion in Keurig (specifically to support the Kold) thus far. They should be doing a dance in the street, since an acquisition is the only way I can imagine them getting that money back.