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Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

Keurig

Keurig is Beta Testing Compostable Pods as Partner CoffeeB Blows Past 400 Thousand Customers

It was a year ago that Keurig announced it had begun working with CoffeeB to create its next-generation compostable coffee pod. The new pod, a puck-shaped consumable called the K-Round, features a fully compostable, plant-based container and was introduced alongside the company’s next-generation single-serve coffee brewer, the Alta.

So when the company announced last week that both the K-Rounds and the Alta brewer are currently undergoing beta testing in consumer homes, I was intrigued, as it looks like we may finally be inching closer to a post-plastic future in the world of single-use coffee. According to Keurig Dr Pepper, they are leveraging insights gathered during consumer testing to optimize the unboxing experience, brewer performance, and the taste and aroma of the beverages produced.

Keurig said it has launched operations at a new, proprietary pilot manufacturing line at its R&D center in Burlington, Massachusetts, where it’s producing the initial batches of K-Round pods for beta testing. This facility will serve as the foundation for refining the manufacturing process as the company scales toward mass production. Keurig also noted it has broken ground on a new roasting and production facility in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

The company provided updates on the Alta’s variable pressure brewing technology, which allows for adjustments in brewing pressure to create different types of barista-quality coffee—including a golden, velvety crema (finally giving them the ability to rival Nespresso’s centrifuge-derived crema). Keurig says four varieties of K-Rounds have been developed and are currently undergoing testing, with plans to expand the selection in the coming months.

The company also disclosed it is undergoing third-party testing to certify that its K-Round pods are compostable in both industrial and home settings. They say they are on track to achieve certification ahead of the broader product launch, aligning with their goal to make 100% of their packaging recyclable or compostable by 2025 (and to further distance themselves from past criticism over unfulfilled sustainability claims).

While Keurig’s progress on a sustainable pod system validates CoffeeB’s technology (Keurig’s system incorporates CoffeeB’s tech along with some of its proprietary IP), the Swiss-based division of Delica AG has been experiencing rapid growth on its own, doubling the number of brewing systems in the field from 200,000 in September 2023 to 400,000 by early 2024.

The Food Tech News Show: Behold, The Humanoid Kitchen Robot is Here

This week, the Spoon crew got together to discuss some of the big stories of the week on a new weekly video news show we’re launching called The Food Tech News Show.

The stories Carlos Rodela and I discuss include:

You can watch the full show below, on YouTube, or listen to it on the Spoon podcast.

And, if you’d like to watch next week’s Food Tech News Show, join us on March 22nd at 1 Pacific on Streamyard, Twitter, or on our YouTube channel.

Cordless Kitchens? - FTNS

Keurig Unveils Plastic-Free Coffee Pods, Developed With A Little Help From The Maker of CoffeeB

If you can’t beat them, join them.

And if you’re Delica, that’s precisely what the Swiss-based company did. That’s because today, North American single-serve giant Keurig Dr. Pepper announced that they have developed a completely new single-serve coffee form factor, one that does away with the iconic (and environmentally damaging) plastic pod, by partnering up with Delica, maker of the CoffeeB fully compostable single-serve coffee ground form factor.

Longtime readers of The Spoon know that Delica launched the CoffeeB system in 2022, and it has been quickly gaining traction in Switzerland, France, and Germany with its fully compostable coffee pods balls. According to Keurig, they have entered into a long-term partnership with Delica that grants Keurig the exclusive rights to use and build upon Delica’s proprietary technology for consumers across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

Keurig's new K-Rounds and Alta Brewer Announcement Video.

Keurig’s new single-serve coffee grounds form factor is called the K-Round, which, like Delica’s, will use a plant-based compostable container. According to Keurig, the K-Round is not only a result of the collaboration with Delica, but also a multi-year research effort by Keurig Dr Pepper’s R&D team. In addition to Delica’s IP, the K-Round utilizes its internal IP to develop a product tailored for the North American market, which includes patents pending for both the brew system and the plastic-free pods.

One primary difference between the CoffeeB system and the new K-Rounds is that the K-Round is essentially a flat puck shape compared to the CoffeeB system’s ball shape. One reason for the different shapes is that they enable Keurig to utilize its BrewID technology, which scans information printed on the top of each K-Round to get information about the specific coffee type and optimize the brew.

“We’ve invented a different shape for them,” Becky Opdyke, senior vice president of Keurig Systems Marketing, told The Spoon. “And that’s because we’re going to be printing some coding on the top that will be read by the brewer so that it makes the coffee type that best matches the K-Round. There will be ones that are specifically sized for espresso versus a long coffee versus a cold brew, for example.”

Of course, the delivery of a new single-serve form factor requires a new coffee brewer, and on that front, Keurig also had plenty of news. Alongside announcing the new K-Round, the company introduced its new Alta coffee brewing system. According to Keurig, the Alta will enable a Keurig brewer to deliver espresso-style coffee extraction for the first time, including the ability to create crema. This new capability is directly tied to the new K-Round, which can withstand up to 250 psi of pressure.

Keurig also announced that the new Alta will be backward compatible with existing pods. While that might initially be a bummer for those who want to see an end to plastic pods, it’s actually critically important since consumers tend to take time to change consumption patterns. By providing a device that bridges generations of pods, Keurig is giving its new system and single-serve form factor its best chance of survival.

A year and a half ago, I asked if CoffeeB stood a chance against Keurig. As it turns out, they didn’t have to fight that battle since they decided to partner with the North American’s single-serve giant. Ultimately, this strategy means consumers (and the earth) will be the winners in the long run with more choices and less waste.

Keurig Takes Another Swing at Cold Beverages With the Launch of QuickChill Cold Coffee Technology

Perhaps the third time’s a charm?

That appears to be what Keurig is thinking, given the news of the single-serve coffee giant’s new technology and brewing system that allows it to deliver cold-brewed coffee drinks instantly.

The new system, QuickChill, will use advanced cooling technology to flash-chill fresh-brewed coffee. According to Keurig, QuickChill will chill hot-brewed coffee from a K-Pod in three minutes, pouring coffee into the glass at 60°F. That’s a vast difference between the company’s previous efforts at ice coffee with its K-Iced coffee line, which poured hot-brewed coffee on top of ice. Keurig says that the new technology will result in coffee that comes out of the machine three times colder than coffee brewed by its K-Iced line.

The new technology, which has an internal chilling mechanism that reduces the coffee’s temperature post-brew, will result in less diluted coffee once poured over ice, which, according to Keurig itself, didn’t always lead to coffee shop results.

“Historically, really, what you’re getting is just a hot brew over the top of ice, and it created a less flavorful, watered-down version of the beverage,” said Josh Hulett, Keurig’s SVP of product management, in a video (see below) about the new QuickChill technology.

The new QuickChill technology will be used in a new hot/cold brewing system from Keurig called the K-Brew + Chill brewer. It will be available starting this fall, and pricing has yet to be announced.

QuickChill is Keurig’s third attempt at creating a platform that dispenses cold beverages. Keurig followers might remember the Keurig Kold, an attempt to compete with the Sodastream carbonated beverage appliance. After shuttering that effort, the company partnered with AB In-Bev a couple years later to create a pod-based home cocktail-making appliance with their Drinkworks joint venture. Drinkworks didn’t make it as far as Kold, shutting down soon after a newly announced new product line.

With QuickChill, however, the company looks to be sticking to what it knows: coffee. According to the company, this move attempts to tap into strong interest in cold-brew coffee, particularly among younger coffee drinkers.

“We’re really excited about this innovation launching because it is a breakthrough for us to be able to serve cold coffee to our consumers, especially to our younger consumers and Gen Z, forty-eight percent of whom had a cold coffee this past week,” said Becky Opdyke, Senior VP of Keurig systems marketing, in an interview with The Spoon. “We want to make sure we’re delivering for them at home as well.”

The news of QuickChill was part of a slew of announcements by Keurig today, including the launch of a completely new single-serve delivery form factor and a new-generation brewing system that takes advantage of the new compostable, plastic-free pod.

The Keurig QuickChill and K Brew BREW + CHILL announcement video from Keurig.

CoffeeB Hits 200k Households For Coffee Ball Brewing System That Aims to Replace Capsules

Not bad for a first year. After launching their compostable ball-shaped coffee pod brewing system last fall, CoffeeB has already reached a milestone of two hundred thousand customers who are using the system according to company CEO Frank Wilde. In a recent Linkedin post commerating the company’s one year anniversary, Wilde revealed the milestone and says the company has strong momentum ahead.

“The first year went well … with over 200,000 households having chosen to switch to CoffeeB and we are optimistic that many more will follow suit in the coming years,” wrote Wilde. “Our R&D team is continuously working on making our coffee blends and machines even better, giving consumers the most sustainable solution to conveniently drink high quality coffee.”

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 Coffee Balls instead of old-school plastic or aluminum capsules. Coffee Balls, which hold the coffee in a compostable layer of algae that keeps the coffee fresh and protected from flavor loss, can be dropped into a compost bin after they are used.

Currently the CoffeeB system is only available in Switzerland (the home of parent company Migros), France and Germany. Wilde has told The Spoon that he expects the CoffeeB to enter the North American market at some point, but hasn’t given a firm timeline.

While pod system giants Keurig and Nespresso have made progress in recent years in developing recycling programs and working on compostable pods, the vast majority of coffee pods used today are still made of plastic or aluminum and end up in the garbage. And sure, 200 thousand households is only a fraction of the single-serve coffee market (Keurig shipped nearly 3 million systems in 2021 alone), but the numbers are significant enough to probably make the big guys take notice.

Capsule-Killer CoffeeB Continues Momentum With German Retail Partnership

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:

The Spoon Talks With CoffeeB About Coffee Balls

Does CoffeeB’s Podless Coffee Machine Have a Fighting Chance Against The Keurig?

Last week, Swiss retail giant Migros dropped a giant surprise on the coffee world with the debut of the CoffeeB coffee brewing system.

The new machine, which took the company five years to develop, is a single-serve coffee machine that completely does away with the plastic pod. The new system utilizes round balls of coffee called, um, 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.


I always appreciate a complete rethink of a system to correct a shortcoming, and pod system plastic and aluminum waste are definitely problematic. But even if the CoffeeB system makes great coffee and reduces waste, does it stand a fighting chance to displace a significant number of Keurigs or Nespressos?

It will be an uphill battle. A quarter of Americans use single-serve coffee machines daily (and 4 in 10 households have a Keurig or Nespresso type capsule system), and while newer approaches like grind-and-brew coffee machines that do away with the pod have been around for a few years, none have really seemed to take off in any significant way.

If CoffeeB is to become the first new single-serve system in decades to garner any substantial market share, they’ll need to take a page out of Nespresso and Keurig’s playbook. This means creating a “Coffee Ball” ecosystem around their technology, which would include a scalable and licensable system to produce the coffee servings (aka balls), a strong coffee roaster partner program in which roasters produce branded Balls, and getting retailers on board to sell the system.

The good news for CoffeeB is Migros’ in-house brand in Café Royal is already one of the more popular single-serve coffee brands in Switzerland, and the brand’s parent company Delica is one of Switzerland’s largest coffee roasters. Add in the fact Migros is one of Europe’s largest retailers, and you might just have a powerful enough vertically integrated company to give CoffeeB a fighting chance.

Ultimately the biggest challenge for CoffeeB will be convincing consumers to change their behavior. While consumers often have good intentions when asked about their desire to be greener, in reality getting them to change behavior and switch to a new system – often at a higher cost – is very difficult. But if Migros can get its price-per-serving down and convince consumers Coffee Balls are better than all those wasteful pods, the CoffeeB might just breathe some well needed fresh air into the single-serve segment.

What The Heck Happened to Drinkworks?

One of the stories I missed while I was out of the country in December was the shuttering of Drinkworks.

What makes the announcement so unexpected was, overall, things seemed to be generally going well: the company was expanding nationally, sales seemed on the uptick, and they’d even just announced the newest generation drink appliance in October of 2021.

Then, less than two months later, the joint venture between Anheuser-Busch and Keurig Dr. Pepper announced it was ceasing operations.

I don’t have to tell you how unusual it is for a company to announce a new product and then shut down just months later. And, now, almost a month after the news, we really don’t have a good answer for what happened, which is why it’s still worth asking: what the heck happened?

Generally, what that type of quick about-face tells me is that the higher-ups – and by that I mean the two companies involved in the joint venture funding – decided the project wasn’t working and pulled the plug.

So what does ‘not working’ mean? It could be any number of things: Appliance or beverage pod sales weren’t meeting forecasts. Customer satisfaction was low. The project was sucking up too many resources. Maybe the two companies didn’t like working together or their strategies diverged. As I said, it could be anything and we may never know (unless, of course, a former insider wants to tell us. Please reach out if you’d like to do so privately).

The end of Drinkworks also begs the question: is this the end for home cocktail appliances? Bartesian – and now Black and Decker – would argue no. As for me, I’m not sure I want a pod-making machine, but I would take a voice-enabled cocktail marking robot.

Watch my video look at the demise of Drinkworks below.

What The Heck Happened to Drinkworks?

Keurig Debuts BrewID Smart Brewing Platform, Launches First WiFi Connected Brewer

Today Keurig, the maker of the omnipresent coffee pod brewing systems, debuted a new smart brewing platform called BrewID.

So what is BrewID? According to the announcement, BrewID is “an all new technology platform designed to support a number of  features, such as the ability to identify a specific K-Cup pod brand from more than 900 pod varieties, including the specific roast, and automatically adjust the brewer’s temperature and strength settings to the specifications to the recommendations of the coffee roasting expert who created it.”

In other words, the new platform will allow Keurig coffee partners to create customized brew settings optimized for each specific roast.

“Every coffee needs a different technique to brew it to its optimized cup size or preference,” Roger Johnson, Keurig’s SVP, Appliance Global product Organization, told me over a zoom call. “And so this technology allows you to center so you understand what the roaster intended and then it’s up to whatever you’d like.”

Johnson said one of the goals of the new brewer with the BrewID platform was to achieve something closer to what you might get from a barista with, say, a pour-over coffee. To achieve that, the new brewer pairs the BrewID with Keurig’s Multistream brewing technology, which in the case of the new brewer, means five streams of water vs just one.

BrewID will make its debut in the company’s first Wi-Fi connected brewer, the K-Supreme Plus Smart Brewer.

I know what some of you are thinking: Coffee pods usually mean a quick, serviceable cup of coffee, but don’t equate to a barista crafted cuppa joe. While you are right, I do think that having a brew tailored for a specific coffee roast makes lots of sense. Dark coffee should be brewed differently than lighter coffee. Arabica beans should get treated differently than Robusta.

And that’s the goal of BrewID. By being connected, the device can access specific brew profiles from Keurig’s network of 75 or so third party roasting partners for specific brew instructions for the 900 or so different types of pods.

The new connected brewer also will have the usual list of benefits of being connected, including app-based programming and control and auto-replenishment. According to Johnson, while Keurig has offered auto-replenishment of pods with some of its earlier models, those models used a time-based system that would order pods at a pre-set interval. With the new Wi-Fi based brewer, pod auto-delivery will be based on usage of pods.

I have to admit, when I first heard the name BrewID, images of Keurig’s ill-fated brew “DRM” technology came to mind. Johnson assured me that Keurig learned their lesson from the Keurig 2.0 system rollout.

“You can brew any pod that you would like,” Johnson told me. “There’s no lockout feature. We celebrate a democratized system.”

Of course, one thing BrewID doesn’t change is the fact Keurig is still, well, a pod system. While Keurig has made big strides in making their pods recyclable – in fact, technically all K-cup pods are now recyclable – whether pods are actually recycled is dependent on consumers actually doing the work. This involves separating the lid, throwing the coffee into the compost and making sure the plastic cup is then put into the right bin. My guess is a lot of consumers still throw the spent pods into the garbage whole, putting plastic into the waste stream.

And while some new grind-and-brew systems like the Spinn do away with the pod altogether and may pose a threat in the future, those systems are still dwarfed by pods, which in 2020 account for a $25 billion market.

So for now, pods are still massive (and growing) business. And, with its new BrewID platform, Keurig is hoping to bring even more coffee drinkers to the pod.

The K-Supreme Plus Smart with BrewID will sell for $199 and will be available this fall.

Food Tech News: Artificial Pollination for Almond Orchards, Brave Robot Available Nationwide

If you’re anything like me, the days blur together easily after months of stay-at-home orders, and you probably have to look at a calendar to determine what day it is. However, our Food Tech News is out today, which means it’s a Saturday! This week, we have stories on artificial pollination in almond orchards, Brave Robot’s nationwide expansion, Keurig’s phone app, and a fully plant-based Starbucks location.

Edete to use artificial pollination for Australian almond orchard

Edete Precision Technologies for Agriculture, an ag tech startup based in Israel, recently signed a contract with one of Australia’s largest almond orchards. This August, when the almonds trees begin to bloom, Edete will apply its artificial pollination technology to the almond trees. The company’s machines collect flowers and then separate out the pollen. The collected pollen can be stored for up to a year, and when trees are ready to be pollinated, the machines dispense the optimal amount of pollen per flower. Due to the decline of pollinators and issues like bee colony collapse disorder, crops that require insect pollination (around 75% of all crops) are at risk for severe yield declines, so Edete’s technology may become crucial in the upcoming years. The company also plans to work with almond growers in California.

Brave Robot’s animal free ice cream made in partnership with fermentation company Perfect Day Source: Perfect Day

Brave Robot is now available in 5,000 stores across US

Brave Robot, a brand of The Urgent Company, shared that its animal-free flora-based ice cream is now available in 5,000 locations across the US. The ice cream comes in eight flavors, and uses Perfect Day’s proprietary animal-free whey. Although the ice cream does not require the use of cows for milk, it does contain dairy because the whey protein is essentially an exact replica of whey protein from cows. Brave Robot ice cream is available in stores like Kroger, Sprouts, Safeway, Lassen’s, and Ralph’s throughout the US.

Keurig Commercial Remote Brew App

Keurig announces new phone controlled and touchless brewing feature

Keurig Commercial announced a new touchless feature available for its commercial coffee makers intended for workplaces. Users can download the Keurig Remote Brew App, and through the app select which coffee or specialty beverage they would like to brew. Developed with the existing Bluetooth Kit, the Remote Brew App can be used with Eccellenza Touch and Eccellenza Momentum models. This new feature was created to make coffee in a COVID-19 safe manner for those employees who may be returning to the workplace.

Photo from Starbuck’s website

Starbucks to pilot fully plant-based location

An existing Starbucks location near Seattle, Washington will be piloted for offering only plant-based menu items. This was announced by Starbucks CEO in the recent Q1 earnings call, but it is unclear when the plant-based transition will occur, or which exact location it will be. On the Starbucks website, an article was released in January 2021 that shared that plant-based items will continue to be added at Starbucks locations globally as part of the company’s sustainability initiatives. New plant-based items being trialed in the U.S. include an Impossible breakfast sandwich, vegan bagels, oat milk, and a variety of almond milk-based beverages.

Meet Blix, an All-in-One Blender & Subscription Service For Soups, Spreads & Smoothies

In a world where seemingly every other kitchen hardware startup has a pitch for a Keurig-esque business model of recurring revenue on their investor deck, it helps when your cofounder has actually sold a company to Keurig for hundreds of millions.

That’s the case with Blix, a startup cofounded by longtime beverage executive Eduoard Sterngold, who previously was the CEO of a company called Bevyz that was acquired by Keurig Green Mountain in 2014 for approximately $220 million.

It’s this type of pedigree that has no doubt helped Blix raise funding and build a team on the way towards launching a new blender-based food system that, yes, uses a proprietary cup-system to make a variety of soups, spreads and smoothies.

I caught up with the company’s president Ariel Sterngold (son of Blix CEO Eduoard) by phone, who told me that after rolling out the product in trials in 2019, they are pushing out the product nationwide over the course of 2020.

So how does the Blix work? The system is built around a blender and a single-use recyclable cups filled with pre-portioned and packaged ingredients. The ingredients are frozen using a technique called IQF (Individual Quick Freezing) where each ingredient – a strawberry, piece of squash, etc – is frozen independently before they are assembled.

The most unique part of the Blix system is the lid, which includes a single-use blade to chop up and mix the meal. The blade for each meal is developed specifically for that meal. By reading the included RFID chip, the system can determine the meal for each cup and adjust the blend accordingly.

One of the things that first struck me when looking at Blix were the words “single-use,” which in today’s world of increased focus on sustainability seems like a problem. Sterngold told me that the system, including the blade on the lid, are fully recyclable, which does mean it’s better than Keurig pods, which only are only partially recyclable. Still, compostable would be better, and reusable would be event better than that.

The main advantage Blix pitches is its ease-of-use as compared to normal smoothie making, which usually requires some chopping and measuring of ingredients and, if it’s a normal blender, a little clean up time. You’ll have to pay for that convenience, however, as each cup clocks in at $7.49 to $7.99 depending on the plan.

Yes, there are subscription plans and, as of now, it’s the only way to get Blix. According to Sterngold, they experimented with a la carte and subscriptions over the past year and found subscription was the preferred method. The subscription plans come in six or twelve cup a week plans and can be paused any time.

What’s in the cups? Right now, users of the Blix can choose from up to twelve smoothie varieties, three types of soup and three types of spreads (two types of hummus and a pesto).

Currently cups are only being shipped on the east coast, but Sterngold told me they plan to open up with a second copacker in California (they currently have one one in New York state) later this year. The products are packed with dry ice and, according to the company, can be shipped across state lines.

I’ve heard lots of pitches for proprietary pod systems over the years. Outside of the coffee space, most have struggled to gain traction. However, like many, I do avoid making smoothies and other blender food largely because the clean up is a pain. Add in that is makes soups and spreads, and I admit the Blix is intriguing.

That said, given that I’m focused on reducing the amount of packaging waste I add into the the wastestream, I’m not super excited about the idea of single use container anything. While Blix say they are fully recyclable, compostable would be better, and resuable preferred. And this is even before we get to the shipping packaging or the RFID tag included with the cup.

In a way Blix reminds me of Daily Harvest, which offers frozen, pre-portioned ingredient cups for smoothies and soups, only without the hardware. Like Blix, Daily Harvest offers subscription plans for its single-use cups, and packaging is recyclable.

A closer analog might be Blendid, which launched a dedicated smoothie making ‘robot’ with a single-use cup system targeted at both smoothie shops and offices in 2016. The product never really took off, but that probably had more to do with not finding traction in the tough-to-crack office food market.

Will the Blix model of subscription food and blender land with consumers? We’ll soon see. The promise of the company’s ready-to-blend food combined with a proprietary blender system was enough for investors to put $13 million so far behind the company, a decent amount of backing in what have been relatively difficult days for hardware startups over the past year.

You can see how the Blix system works in the company-produced demo video below.

Market Map: Booze Tech in 2019

From countertop devices used in the home kitchen to delivery services, the number of avenues in which companies can get booze to customers has expanded in recent years. And since it’s still the time of year when drinking on patios is a popular sport, we decided to focus our latest market map on all the tech out there currently changing the alcohol space.

In the U.S., alcohol consumption has actually stagnated, according to IWSR, but part of this is due to consumers now seeking quality over quantity when it comes to their drinking. Which might explain the rise in the number of companies offering recommendations apps that rate beers, wines, and spirits as well as at-home devices for the kitchen countertop that give the user a little more control over the quality of their drinks.

For The Spoon’s Booze Tech in 2019 market map, we divvied the market up into several categories where technology is making the biggest impact on the way people get, create, and consume beer, wine, and spirits. That’s everything from apps that update you on the best craft beers available to at-home bartending devices that let you release your inner mixologist to the many ways in which companies are making it possible to get the booze delivered right to your doorstep. We’ve narrowed the companies down to a collection of startups and major corporations alike. As with any post that outlines a market, this list isn’t exhaustive. So if you have thoughts and tips for who else you’d like to see here, feel free to drop us a line.

While we’re on the subject of maps, be sure to check out our 2019 Food Robotics market map and our Food Waste Innovation in 2019 map.

Booze Tech in 2019