Leading to more than one hundred layoffs at the Vermont-based coffee maker company, Keurig has discontinued the Keurig Kold soda maker. As noted by the Associated Press, the Keurig Kold lasted less than one year before the company decided to shut down production of the hardware. Prior to ending production, Keurig believed that the market for homemade sodas, using the company’s custom pods, would be even bigger than the existing coffee market.
Updated on 6-11-2016: SodaStream offers to replace some consumers’ Keurig Kold soda makers
Unfortunately, the Keurig Kold encountered multiple stumbling blocks when initially brought to market. The first was a steep price point that led some retailers to charge as much as the $370 MSRP for the machine. Alternatively, competitive products for soda creation at home, like the SodaStream, are priced as much as seventy percent less than the Keurig Kold.
And now, if you want a SodaStream to replace your Keurig Kold, that’s an option. The Israel-based company is looking to get back on the good side of customers who abandoned the original home soda maker for the Keurig by offering a free SodaStream Fountain Jet machine. The only stipulation? A selfie.
“If you’re a Keurig Kold owner who has been left out in the Kold, just snap a pic of yourself with your discontinued machine and email it with your name, address and phone number to info@sodastreamsupport.com,” SodaStream said in a statement. “We’ll send you a promotional code that can be redeemed online for a free SodaStream.”
You’ll have to act fast, as this offer is limited to “the first 2,000 eligible applicants whose emails are received on or before June 17, 2016.” And you’ll have to pay for shipping and handling as well.
Still, this is cheaper than Keurig’s old high price for its hardware, as well as its pod pricing. Pods were boxed in a pack of four for as much as $5. Each pod produced only 8 fluid ounces of soda, four less fluid ounces than including in a standard soda can. Keurig worked with Coca-Cola to produce a line of sodas based off popular drinks such as Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Sprite and Fanta. As a result, consumers chose other home-brew soda makers or simply purchased cans or bottles of soda instead of using Keurig’s expensive machine.
After discontinuing the Kold, Keurig offered full refunds at the full purchase price to anyone that purchased the Kold machine. The Kold will likely be pulled from store shelves soon, and the pods will be discontinued as well.
On the manufacturing side, Keurig will lay off 130 employees. The majority of these employees worked on Kold pod manufacturing in Vermont. Employees that work on the coffee maker side of the business will be keeping their jobs, according to Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin. Keurig also had plans to build the Kold pods at a new plant in Douglasville, Georgia, but that plant was never opened due to the lack of popularity.
