Publications
Publications
- August 2024
- HBS Case Collection
Keurig: A Return to Growth
By: David Fubini and Patrick Sanguineti
Abstract
By the early 2010s, Keurig Green Mountain (KGM) had lost the momentum that had made it the name in at-home coffee brewing in North America. Following a series of product missteps, negative media scrutiny, and ongoing challenges to its partner relationships, in late 2015, the company was acquired by JAB Holding Company. Now under private control, new CEO Bob Gamgort led efforts to re-accelerate growth and increase penetration past the Keurig brand’s respectable yet plateauing 20 million household mark. In just over a year, he led a successful turnaround, salvaging fractured partner relationships, upping productivity, and reducing costs. He and a handful of key executives thus set their sights on new growth in the Fall of 2017. Four options emerged: 1) take the company public again through an IPO, 2) set out for greater global expansion, 3) combine with another coffee business to become a larger player in North American coffee, and 4) diversify beyond coffee through a “pure play beverage” strategy. Gamgort and his team must decide: what is the right strategy to return Keurig to growth?
Keywords
Turnaround; Mergers and Acquisitions; Decisions; Initial Public Offering; Global Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Going Public; Diversification; Expansion; Food and Beverage Industry
Citation
Fubini, David, and Patrick Sanguineti. "Keurig: A Return to Growth." Harvard Business School Case 425-009, August 2024.