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AB InBev partners with Keurig on alcoholic drinks maker
AB InBev has teamed up with coffee maker Keurig to develop an at-home alcoholic drinks dispenser, with the ability to whip up beer, cocktails and spirits at the touch of a button.
Keurig is best known for its one-cup coffee dispenser
The companies confirmed on the partnership of Friday, announcing plans to create an in-home alcoholic drink system that could dispense “beer, spirits, cocktails and mixers”, according to a press release.
With scant details on the machine proposed, the partnership will bring together the expertise of both companies, AB InBev as the world’s biggest brewer, and Keurig Green Mountain – best known for its one-cup coffee dispenser.
The device will build upon Keurig’s KOLD soda-making machine, which was discontinued after 10 months following disappointing sales. KOLD allowed consumers to make branded sparkling and still beverages at home, including drinks from The Coca-Cola Company and Dr Pepper Snapple Group.
The new machine will be modelled on KOLD, but with alcoholic beverages, and will presumably be similar in concept to the already popular Keurig and Nespresso coffee machines, making use of AB InBev’s brewing and packaging technology.
While the project is barely off the ground, with a prototype still far off, it could feasibly result in the ability to create home-brewed versions of beers such as Budweiser and Corona.
“We are excited to partner with AB InBev to develop a new system for the adult beverage category,” said Bob Gamgort, Keurig Green Mountain CEO. “We look forward to combining our capabilities and technologies to deliver innovation for consumers.”
In 2015 Keurig was acquired by JAB Holding for US $13.9 billion. The CEO of the private company is Olivier Goudet, who is also the chairman of AB InBev.
The partnership comes just days after Pernod Ricard unveiled a revamped prototype of its Gutenberg Project – an at-home cocktail-making dispenser – now known as OPN.
Pernod Ricard’s OPN
The “pioneering, intelligent system”, which mixes cocktails and is controlled through an app, was first unveiled in 2014 under the working title Project Gutenberg. Opn uses 75cl cartridges filled with varying spirits that are connected intelligently to track levels, measure and mix drinks via an app.
OPN is able to learn and customise cocktail recipes, adapting them to available ingredients, drawing on a database of more than 300 cocktail recipes with step-by-step instructions. Furthermore, the system will devise a shopping list of ingredients for desired serves and order spirits to be delivered to you door on demand.
OPN is expected to be rolled out commercially in 2018.