Keurig Green Mountain says it will increase prices on portion packs by 9 percent in November. The increase includes the company's popular K-Cups.
The Waterbury-based company, formerly known as Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, says the decision is the result of rising commodity prices as well as increased costs for packaging, transportation and materials.
"Many of our competitors already have implemented price increases in light of the reality of sustained input cost increases. After careful review, we determined that it is necessary for us to adopt a small price increase in light of these higher costs,” " said John Whoriskey, President of U.S. Sales and Marketing at Keurig, in a press release issued by the company.
According to analysts, commodity price increases have a greater impact on Keurig Green Mountain than on companies like Starbucks, where coffee costs are a smaller percentage of overall business costs.
Coffee prices have gone up in recent months as a result of increasing demand, coupled with a drop in global production.
Brazil, which supplies 25 percent of the coffee imported to the U.S., is experiencing weather-related production problems.
