Dive Brief:
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Ganeden Biotech and Copper Moon Coffee just introduced the first K-Cups that deliver probiotics, necessary for immune and digestive health, in a cup of coffee.
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Now people can drink GanedenBC30 (Bacillus coagulans GBI-30, 6086) in the form of French Vanilla Cappuccino brewed on any machine that works with K-cups. The coffee also packs in vitamins and minerals for extra health benefits.
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This innovation would likely be heralded by coffee lovers, who can now get more than flavor and caffeine out of their favorite beverage.
Dive Insight:
Copper Moon is making a smart move in distinguishing itself in the K-cup coffee market. It’s a strong one that continues to grow. According to Packaged Facts, the single-cup brew portion of retail coffee sales reached $1.8 billion in 2012, and its growth appears to be continuing.
It's also a market that is changing. Copper Moon's probiotics concept comes just weeks after Coke signed a deal to link with Keurig Green Mountain and build a countertop machine for soft drinks to compete with SodaStream.
Complicating matters is that the K-Cup patent expired in September 2012, a fact which promted to Keurig to launch a machine that would only accept its own K-Cup as a way to fight off unlicensed cup vendors.
It all adds up to a highly competitive environment in the single-serve market.
That’s where Copper Moon Coffee may gain a particular advantage in the selling point of health benefits. No doubt, the company will introduce additional flavors packed with probiotics if the initial offering proves successful — and those of us addicted to our caffeine brews will be able to tell our critics that we are drinking for our health.