Coffee may be better for you than you think.
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (Nasdaq: GMCR) is introducing a line of wellness beverages today.
The Wellness Brewed line of K-Cups adds antioxidant vitamins and other wellness boosts to coffee, tea, and fruit brews.
It's a no-brainer. We've seen what vitamin-stoked H2O has done for the bottled water industry. Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) wound up paying $4.1 billion for the parent company of vitaminwater five years ago. As long as it doesn't muck up the taste -- and if the wellness features are passed on successfully in the brewing process -- it's certainly worth a shot.
Green Mountain is going with six varieties. Two of them will be coffees. One will pack an antioxidant blend rich in vitamins C and E, while the Focus Blend will come with a kick of brain-tickling and stress-reducing Theanine. There will also be two flavors of Hain Celestial's (Nasdaq: HAIN) Celestial Seasonings fruity green teas with antioxidants and a pair of the new fruit brews that are ideally brewed over ice and served cold.
The drinks will be initially available only online, starting at a reasonable $17.49 for a 24-count box.
Do java sippers want antioxidant vitamins and cognitive-enhancing Theanine in their beverages? Clearly adding vitamins and minerals to bottled water has been a hit, but Coca-Cola has struggled with its Diet Coke Plus cola.
Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX) entered the wellness market with its acquisition late last year of Evolution Fresh, but that push is limited to juices and smoothies for now.
Green Mountain knows what it's doing. Its K-Cup patents expire in 10 days, and branching out into niche-specific products will help cultivate loyalty. Just because you may not care to get an antioxidant boost in your morning coffee doesn't mean that your spouse or your neighbor wouldn't appreciate the option. The reason there are roughly 200 K-Cup varieties is because there is no brew that is universally loved.
Variety matters.
Brew ha ha
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There's a premium report on Green Mountain, exploring the Keurig champ's challenges and opportunities. A free year of updates is included, so get up to speed on the java heavy.
