Keurig's attempt to 'DRM' its coffee cups totally backfired

[Victorious Secret]

 

A system designed to lock out third-party competitors just enraged consumers

 

 

 

I like systems like this. I know there are people on the internet who will despise the idea of buying little plastic cups filled with ready to go coffee/latte/syrup/etc but for a lot of people, the ease of use is unparalleled and compared to some of the lattes that Second Cup/Starbucks (which are delicious and but expensive), a cup based system can be really economical for some. 

 

Keurig however, are a bunch of dumbasses. Putting DRM on coffee? Not a smooth move at all. No wonder people were pissed. Going after the sacred institution of the coffee bean and trying to lock it down to only accept your cups and not any old piece of plastic (like the old ones)? Foolish move. 

 

Maybe the hurt that slow sales put on their financials sent them a proper message on how to handle the grave issue of coffee DRM. 

 

 

Late last year, Keurig announced a new machine, the 2.0, calling it the "future of brewing" and touting its ability to make both small cups and large carafes. But another, less-publicized feature has been getting most of the attention: the brewer’s advanced scanning system that locks out any coffee pods not bearing a special mark. It’s essentially a digital rights management system, but for coffee, and it’s proving to be the brewer’s downfall.

 

 

On an earnings call Wednesday the company announced that brewer sales fell 12 percent last quarter, the first full quarter for which the 2.0 was on sale. "Quite simply our 2.0 launch got off to a slower start than we planned," said CEO Brian Kelley. He saidthe company had been too slow to get 2.0-compatible cups onto retail shelves and "confusion among consumers as to whether the 2.0 would still brew all of their favorite brands."

 

The funniest thing about the backlash is that it was entirely predictable. Consumers hate DRM — in music, in movies, in anything — but applying it to coffee feels especially galling. It’s the most open caffeinated beverage there is; all you need is beans and hot water and, I guess, a vessel to brew it in. Locking it up in plastic cups was already a little silly, though something lots of people were happy to buy for the sake of convenience. Building a complicated infrared scanning system so that you can only use Keurig-approved cups was a step too far.

 

 

Many of these companies have declared their intention to make 2.0-compatible cups. Others have sued. Yet another third-party cup manufacturer is giving away a free clipthat it says tricks Keurig’s scanner. And YouTube is full of videos showing how to hack the system.

 

 

 

 

http://www.theverge.com/2015/2/5/7986327/keurigs-attempt-to-drm-its-coffee-cups-totally-backfired

[WinNut]

wow.

[Kyuubixchidori]

so you have to jaikbreak your coffee machine?

 

what, smart refrigerators wont let me buy junk food either?

[AMICLG]

There's a really simple fix to this DRM.

[terrytek]

Why would you need to fucking DRM a fucking K-Cup? There's no fucking point to it.

[Kherm]

Wow, after the success of the first model they got greedy and did this. If they stop manufacturing the first one and stick to this, they'll be dead in a few years

[RazeG3SG1]

GOOD!

[niofalpha]

I didn't even know they did this...

 

Still like my Tea!

[XTankSlayerX]

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/02/coffee-roasters-freedom-clip-fools-keurig-2-0-java-drm/

 

[Syntaxvgm]

what the fuck did they think would happen? People would buy their overpriced shit or buy cheaper makes that now also don't prevent "coffee piracy? "

[Guest Kloaked]

Glad we bought ours when we did so we didn't have to find a fix for it.

I don't know how you can DRM coffee like that. It should be against the law to be anti consumer in this way.

[Takata]

There's a really simple fix to this DRM.

"Not much aim"

 

Looks like Keurig tried to apply the same business model as printer manufacturers do with printers and ink. Looks like it doesn't work because people consume orders of magnitude more coffee pods than ink cartridges. This forces Keurig to use an extremely cheap and weak "DRM" solution on its coffee pods, while printer manufacturers can pursue more expensive methods.

[Ashley]

Why would you need to fucking DRM a fucking K-Cup? There's no fucking point to it.

Lots of people already have Keurigs that want one of them. How else do you make money? By increasing market share of the k-cups.

 

Just my immediate thought, not that it makes it right.

[Ertman]

Keurig has a lot in common with digital video stores.

Convinience at the expense of quality and locked down by drm.

[Guest]

Keurig was a good company at first, and a good source of revenue for Vermont's economy (Keurig is run by Green Mountatin Coffee)

 

However, ever since the Vue system came out a few years back, they seemed to get greedy and stopped allowing compatbility with certain cups in certain brewers. Now, Keurig 2.0 is just such BS. They basically sold out to Coca-Cola last year, and now use DRM and have a contract to only allow Coke products when it comes to non-coffee drinks.

[JewishBacon]

For those of you that are in the 3D printer world, there is a company called stratasys that does basically the same thing. You have to buy thousands of dollars of DRM filament to put in your printer. Granted, its professional grade, and the machine costs 20k, but its the same concept...

[NeverNude]

Keurig, the Ubisoft of coffee!

[Syntaxvgm]

Keurig, the Ubisoft of coffee!

dude....your avatar....not appropriate

Impressive bulge.....

but still 

[Biggerisbetter]

i might short GMCR (Keurig Green Mountain Inc) tomorrow

[Scheer]

My parents bought a 2.0 machine and NONE of their coffee worked with it, they called Keurig and had to give them numbers off the boxes and Keurig replaced it all with 2.0 compatible cups, so I got about 200 cups of free coffee for my good ole B150.

 

You'd think their bottom line would be better to do cheaper licensing to more companies, rather than resorting to more restriction.

[Victorious Secret]

My parents bought a 2.0 machine and NONE of their coffee worked with it, they called Keurig and had to give them numbers off the boxes and Keurig replaced it all with 2.0 compatible cups, so I got about 200 cups of free coffee for my good ole B150.

You'd think their bottom line would be better to do cheaper licensing to more companies, rather than resorting to more restriction.

Licensing agreements would've been amazing but they didn't think that far ahead at all

[LAwLz]

I like this reaction a lot. Now if only we could get the same kind of backlash from all other terrible DRMs that need to go die in a fire.

Compete with price and taste of the coffee? Nahh that's too hard. Let's force people to buy only our stuff instead. What a scummy business plan.

[Trik'Stari]

There's a really simple fix to this DRM.

don't even need that. I've found with ours that all you need to do is close the lid just right and it allows you to do it so :\

 

And this is stupid, why do companies think that consumers want DRM on everything? Wake the fuck up, I buy something, I should be able to use it the way I see fit, so long as I do not endanger others.

[pk-man]

the coffee isnt even that amazing, and the cups are NOT recyclable.

[Scheer]

the coffee isnt even that amazing, and the cups are NOT recyclable.

 

The convenience is why I use one, rarely ever have to clean it and with a direct plumb kit I never even have to add water. Press a button and walk out the house.

 

Although, for the money you get pretty good coffee IMO.

 

Here are the hippy cups   https://www.gourmet-coffee.com/organic-onecup-packs/