US: Coffee industry jolted by Keurig, Green Mountain antitrust suit

Single-serve coffee serve Keurig and coffee brand Green Mountain Coffee Roasters are the targets of an antitrust law suit filed by rivals for allegations of monopolistic behavior, say reports.

TreeHouse Foods and two subsidiaries, Bay Valley Foods and Sturm Foods, filed the suit Tuesday against the companies for allegedly attempting to obtain a monopoly over single-serve brewer coffee cups; reports say the suit claims Keurig and Green Mountain are in violation of federal and state antitrust law in three states.

Specifically, TreeHouse accuses the companies of exclusive agreements between Green Mountain and supplies and distributors of the single K-Cups.

Green Mountain is accused of looking to secure a monopoly after its patents for the single coffee cups expire.

The lawsuit follows Green Mountain’s announcement that Keurig’s next coffee machine, the Keurig 2.0 brewer, will include technology that blocks the use of non-licensed competing single cups.

Full Content: Daily Herald

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