The Coffee Ball just keeps on rolling.
Swiss retail giant Migros, the company behind the CoffeeB coffee brewing system, announced this week it has struck a deal with Germany’s largest retailer in EDEKA. According to the release, EDEKA will begin rolling out the capsule-less coffee system to its 11,000 stores in April 2023.
When it was announced in early September, CoffeeB was a surprise to many (including me) who aren’t accustomed to seeing big retailers create potentially disruptive, innovative technology. Developed over five years, the CoffeeB system is a single-serve coffee machine that does away with the plastic pod or capsule. Instead, the new system utilizes round balls of coffee called (what else?) Coffee Balls instead of old-school plastic or aluminum capsules. Coffee Balls, which are wrapped in a layer of algae that keeps the coffee fresh and protected from flavor loss, can be dropped into a compost bin after they are used.
Germany represents the third market for CoffeeB, which debuted in Migros’ home market of Switzerland and France. I have no doubt the coffee industry is monitoring the success of the CoffeeB platform closely, given its potential to shake up a plastic-pod-dominated single-use coffee market. Over time, I’m sure we may see some companies offering plastic-pod-based coffees for the Nespresso and Keurig systems look to license or offer CoffeeB Coffee Balls if the momentum continues to grow.
You can watch my interview with CoffeeB’s managing director Frank Wilde below:
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