More GMCR thoughts

I played around with a Keurig mini in Target today. It was ok, but it felt sort of cheap and it was all plastic. The basic model costs $80 and was on a shelf next to a normal drip-machine that cost $8.

If the main reason people by this machine is convenience, why not buy this for $100?



I'm a huge coffee drinker and I understand how a Keurig could be convenient. But buying the simple entry-level Keurig for $80, being locked into a proprietary system, having no control over the coffee, and not being able to brew more than 1 cup at a time are serious drawbacks. It's a niche market.


GMCR made new highs on Thursday. 44.75 was the old high and had been resistance. Now it's acting as support. The stock had a nice run but gave up the gains the next day.
Here's the google trends search index data for "keurig". The "green mountain coffee" data looks similar, but less volatile. I think it's important to track "keurig" since that's their self-proclaimed growth driver.


Based off this there is an increase in searches for keurig. But pay attention to where the huge spikes are. Right around the holidays. I was reading an analyst a few months back who was saying the sale of the coffee pods weren't keeping pace with the machines. This is why. People get the machines as a gift and don't really use them. This bad for GMCR since they are making the real money selling the coffee pods.