In 1997, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters became the first roaster to offer its coffee in the Keurig "K-Cup" pod for the newly market-ready Keurig Single-Cup Brewing System, and in 1998 Keurig delivered its first brewing system, the B2000, designed for offices. Distribution began in New York and New England. The target market at that time was still office use, and Keurig hoped to capture some of Starbucks' market. To satisfy brand loyalty and individual tastes, Keurig found and enlisted a variety of regionally known coffee brands that catered to various flavor preferences. The first of these was Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, and additional licensees for the K-Cup line included Tully's Coffee, Timothy's World Coffee, Diedrich Coffee, and Van Houtte, although Green Mountain was the dominant brand. Keurig also partnered with a variety of established national U.S. coffee brands for K-Cup varieties, and in 2000, the company also branched out the beverage offerings in its K-Cup pods to include hot chocolate and a variety of teas. The brewing machines were large, and hooked up to an office's water supply; Keurig sold them to local coffee distributors, who installed them in offices for little or no money, relying on the K-Cups for profits.
Keurig is credited with creating a new category with their cup-at-a-time pod-style brewing that was both a breakthrough product and a breakthrough business model.
In 2006, the publicly traded Vermont-based specialty-coffee company Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) – which had successively invested in and acquired increasing percentage ownership of Keurig in 1993, 1996, and 2003, by which time it had a 43% ownership – completed its full acquisition of Keurig. Green Mountain also acquired the four additional Keurig licensees, Tully's Coffee, Timothy's World Coffee, Diedrich Coffee, and Van Houtte, in 2009 and 2010.
The joining of Keurig and Green Mountain combined a highly technological brewing-machine manufacturer and a nationwide high-end coffee provider into one company, and created an effective "razor/razorblade" model that allowed for explosive growth and high profits. By 2008, K-Cup pods became available for sale in supermarkets across the U.S. Coffee pod machine sales overall multiplied more than six-fold over the six years from 2008 to 2014. In 2010, Keurig and K-Cup sales topped $1.2 billion. The high-margin profits from K-Cup pods are the bulk of the company's income; for fiscal year 2014, Keurig generated $822.3 million in sales from brewers and accessories, while the pods had $3.6 billion in sales.
The company introduced the Keurig Vue brewer, paired with new Vue pods, in February 2012, seven months before the key patent on the K-Cup expired in September 2012. The Vue system was announced as having customizable features so consumers had control over the strength, size, and temperature of their beverages, and the Vue pod is made of recyclable plastic. The Vue brewer was discontinued in 2014, although Keurig still sells the Vue pods.
In November 2012, GMCR released its espresso, cappuccino, and latte brewer, the Rivo, co-developed with the Italian coffee company Lavazza; it was discontinued in December 2016. In the fall of 2013, the company released a full-pot brewer, the Keurig Bolt, for use mainly in offices; it was discontinued in December 2016.
In November 2013, Keurig opened a keurig 1.0 and 2.0 models store inside the Burlington Mall in Burlington, Massachusetts. The store features the full line of Keurig machines and accessories, and nearly 200 varieties of K-Cups for creating individualized 3-, 6-, or 12-pod boxes.
In February 2014, The Coca-Cola Company purchased a 10% stake in Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, valued at $1.25 billion, with an option to increase their stake to 16%, which was exercised in May 2014. The partnership was part of Coca-Cola's support of a cold beverage system developed by Keurig to allow customers to make Coca-Cola and other brand beverages at home. In January 2015, the company made a similar deal with Dr Pepper Snapple Group, but without a stockholder stake. The cold beverage system, Keurig Kold, launched in September 2015.
In early March 2014, shareholders of Keurig's parent company, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, voted to change its name to Keurig Green Mountain to reflect its business of selling Keurig coffee makers. Keurig Green Mountain's stock-market symbol remained "GMCR".
In the fall of 2014, Keurig Green Mountain introduced the Keurig 2.0 brewer, with technology to prevent old or unlicensed pods being used in the brewer. The digital lock-out sparked hacking attempts and anti-trust lawsuits. The Keurig 2.0 K-Cup pods come in 400 varieties from 60 brands, and as of 2015 the 2.0 K-Cup, K-Carafe, and K-Mug pods encompass 500 varieties from 75 brands. The 2.0 brewer also has the capacity to brew full carafes in three settings from 2 to 5 cups, via the use of the new K-Carafe pod.
In March 2015, Keurig launched the K-Mug pod, a recyclable pod which brews large travel mug–sized portions. The K-Mug pods, for use in the Keurig 2.0 brewing system, brew 12-, 14-, and 16-ounce cups, and the plastic is recyclable polypropylene plastic.
In mid 2015, Keurig debuted the K200, a smaller Keurig 2.0 model that can brew single cups or four-cup carafes and comes in a variety of colors. General Electric announced that its new Café French Door refrigerator, due out in late 2015, will have a Keurig coffee machine built into the door.
In September 2015, Keurig launched a line of Campbell's Soup available in K-Cups. The Campbell's Fresh-Brewed Soup Kits come with a packet of noodles and a K-Cup pod of soup. The product is available in two varieties: Homestyle Chicken Broth & Noodle, and Southwest Style Chicken Broth & Noodle.
Also in September 2015, Keurig launched Keurig Kold, a brewer which creates a variety of cold beverages including soft drinks, functional beverages, and sparkling waters. The machine brews beverages from The Coca-Cola Company (e.g. Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Sprite, Fanta) and the Dr Pepper Snapple Group (e.g. Dr Pepper, Canada Dry) and Keurig's own line of flavored sparkling and non-sparkling waters and teas, sports drinks, and soda-fountain drinks.
In December 2015, it was announced that Keurig Green Mountain would be sold to an investor group led by private-equity firm JAB Holding Company for nearly $14 billion. The acquisition was completed in March 2016.