≡ Menu
Soda Sherpa

Here’s Everything We Know About the Keurig Kold Cold Beverage Machine

Keurig Kold Machine

Rumours have been circulating for a while now. Keurig is planning an aggressive move into the home soda making market. While it’s not on the market yet, it’s launch has been highly anticipated. Here’s everything we know about Keurig’s cold beverage maker—Keurig Kold—so far.

Update: It’s here! The Keurig Kold is now available through Amazon.

1. It’s going to use pods instead of syrup.

The Keurig Kold design is going to be significantly different from other home soda makers such as the SodaStream. The biggest difference will be how the flavor gets mixed in. The SodaStream requires customers to add flavor as a syrup to an already carbonated bottle of water. Much like their coffee brewer, the Kold will use pods instead. This will lead to a seamless process where Kold users only need to select a flavor, add the pod to the machine, and carbonate—no mixing required. Read more.

2. It’s going to be expensive.

Keurig has announced that the Kold is going to retail between $299-$369. This is significantly more expensive other options, including SodaStream. They’ve also stated that the pods used to flavour soda will retail between $.99-$1.29. If each pod only makes one serving of Soda, it’s hard to imagine anyone willing to pay that price just for the convenience of making soda at home. Especially with other, more competitively priced products on the market. Read more.

3. You won’t need a CO2 canister.

One of the benefits of the pod system is that the machine won’t require a CO2 canister. This is music to the ears of SodaStream users who know the pain of running out of CO2 and trying to find somewhere to get a refill. Rather than using CO2 canisters, each pod will contain carbonation beads. This means that if you have a flavour pod and a machine, you’ll have everything you need to make soda at home. Read more.

4. The Kold will actually be cold.

While the SodaStream doesn’t actually chill beverages, the Kold will. SodaStream owners either have to chill their water or before carbonating it, add ice to the finished product, or be stuck waiting while it cools in the fridge. Conversely, Kold owners will be able to carbonate with water from the tap because the machine will be able to hold 6-8 servings of chilled water at a time. The finished product will come out at 39°F in 60 seconds. Read more.

5. Dr. Pepper will be available as a flavour.

Dr. Pepper Snapple has announced that they signed an exclusive multiyear deal with Keurig. They haven’t disclosed which ones, but they claim 30 flavours will be available as pods for the Keurig Kold. Although it’s good news for fans of Keurig, this is bad news for SodaStream fans, who know now for sure that Dr. Pepper-branded flavours will not be available anytime in the near future. Read more.

6. Investor’s are are not happy.

After recent announcements providing more details about the up-and-coming home soda maker, Keurig’s stock declined. Investors are concerned that demand for soda is drying up and the high price of the Keurig Kold has them worried consumers will opt for other options instead. After the price announcement, the stock dropped in value by almost 10% and has continued to decline since them. Time will tell how investor apprehension affects the future strategy of the Kold. Read more.

7. Coca Cola will will be exclusive to the Kold

The fact that a Coke-branded syrup is not available for the SodaStream has been a big criticism for along time. Many consumers feel that the SodaStream brand syrup is just not as good. However, Coke recently signed a a deal with Keurig to make their flavours available at home, exclusively for the Kold. They even invested a 10% stake in Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Keurig’s parent company, so we know they’re serious! Read more.

8. Investors may be worried, but Coke is not.

Not surprisingly, given their investment in the company, Coca Cola is hot on the Keurig Kold. Coke’s CEO Muhtar Kent has nothing but good things to say about the Kold, and after their initial investment in a 10% stake in the company, they boosted that investment to 16%.  In fact, some experts say they even be trying to acquire Keurig. Now that would things very interesting! Read more.

9. We still have a while to wait.

While initial announcements suggested the Kold would come out in the fall of 2015, we’ve now learned that, that will be a very limited release. Full retail distribution won’t roll out until a year later for the 2016 holiday season. We’re not sure where the Kold will be available in the fall 2015 yet, but here’s hoping we can get out hands on one! Read more.

10. It’s going to be to big.

Regardless of what investor’s think, the Kold is going to come out with a bang—and it’ll be around for a while. The company has already closed on the purchase of a 585,000 square foot building in Georgia, and they’re committing to investing $337 million into the facility over the next five years. Clearly, they mean business. You can bet they’re going to be throwing everything they have at the success of this new venture. We wish them all the best! Read more.

Now that you know everything there is to know about the Keurig Kold, what do you think? Are you going to pick one up when it comes out? Let us know in the comments.

33 comments… add one
  • Silverio

    No Pepsi no keurig kold for me.

    • Mr Bob

      You have to be the only person on the planet a waitress has ever said is “is coke ok?” to.

    • Eric

      No Pepsi, No problem. They can keep the soda squirt deal. Coke Rules!

    • Jesse

      I always ask for coke at restaurants and they say is pepsi ok and I say is it okay if go eat somewhere else that has coke?

  • David

    I haven’t heard any options for basic soda water, no flavoring, which is what I use my sodastream for. Add that to the absurd price points and a general dislike for Keurig’s business model, and I can’t imagine ever owning this. Cheaper to just pick up several CO2 tanks at a time.

    • Julie

      I’m not very excited about it either – I don’t like the amount of packaging that will be involved!

  • Jeffrey Bottoms

    This machine is going to fail. The price point for the machine is actually too low and the price for the “pods” on a per serving basis is almost twice the cost of the retail product and will not taste as good. Keurig absolutely bombed with the 2.0 brewer and I can only imagine that the machine will also inevitably be designed to reject 3rd party “pods” that one would wish to fill with other brands of syrup or a homemade concoction. Bottom line here is the machine is inexpensive but the more a consumer uses it the lower the return on investment. The military calls a project like this a “charlie foxtrot” (a gigantic C.F.) and I could not agree more. If you own stock in Keurig, my advice is to get out now!

    • Julie

      Hah! I agree the price is ridiculous. Time will tell I suppose.

  • Al Fichman

    I cannot see the Keurig Kold breaking into the Soda(main)stream for several reasons. The unit costs too much; keeping water at 39 degrees takes electricity; no one drinks just 8 ounces of soda; by the nature of the system, it is bound to result in syrup seepage, resulting in malfunction and draw insects; if a group of friends all want a soda they are going to have to wait in line with their pods in hand, and likely wait as the refilled tub of water cools down.
    Unfortunately the Keurig Kold sounds like a toy destined for the kitchens of the affluent, and most definitely not for us average soda jerks!

    • Julie

      Syrup seepage does not sound good!

  • Russ

    If each serving cost $0.25, I’d be in. But no way at $1.00+.

    Now if someone were to hack the device to allow CO2 tanks and other types of syrup, that’d be interesting.

    • Julie

      Maybe that someone should be you 😉

  • Liz

    Can’t wait, I hope it tastes better than Soda Stream, their flavors are horrible & leave an aftertaste in your mouth, plus I don’t like the whole CO2 deal with swapping them out. I used to work for a company that sold a concept idea like this & it produced single cups of soda & it tasted wonderful it was called the break mate & it was used for small offices, so I’m excited!

    • Julie

      Not having to swap out CO2 canisters is going to be a big plus!

  • Johnathan H

    I don’t get it. They’re forcing users to make a drink in which they can’t control the size at a price that rivals what you’d pay in variety stores? What?
    Why not just buy a case from the supermarket then?

    The Sodastream lets you make a litre at a time and store it away in the fridge. Perfect if you only want a small glass and even better if you mostly just want carbonated water anyway. The Kold is more like the Tassimo than their own coffee machines. Now that Pepsi is onboard with the Sodastream (with minimal expense) they have a much less risky entrance into the market.

    • Julie

      The price does seem a bit crazy. What’s the point?

  • Lan

    It’s going to crash and burn. Why would I pay $1 per cup to make soda at home when I can buy a 2L for $1. Now that Coke is with Keurig, I hope Pepsi would go with Sodastream. Another idea if you drink a lot of soda is to make your own machine. It cost less than $80 and you can get coke syrup from Sam’s Club for around $75 for 5 gallons. About 60 2L.

    • Gerald Steingruber

      I agree. 1 to 1.29 for an 8 oz. glass is ridiculous .How can buying Coke @1.00 a 2 liter be inconvenient when you buy it with your normal grocery shopping. This is destined to fail. I would not buy stock in this company!

  • kG

    Sorta makes those 12oz. cans of soda seem like a great bargain. This will go down as another example of them having had it right the first time. Buy, drink, recycle. I never wanted the entire manufacturing process on my kitchen counter. I’m not sure what “problem” they’re solving with these, not at these prices.

  • Adam

    If anyone sees this, has bought a Kold, and would like a free box, let me know. They sent me a coupon for one, but I have zero intentions of buying this machine.

    • Julie

      Thanks Adam, that’s really nice of you! Hopefully someone can take you up on your offer.

    • Angie

      Have you given it away already?

    • April

      Adam ill take coupon if u still have it. Thx

  • Curtis

    Ok, let me get this straight.
    After a massive 2.0 fail, Keurig spends half a billion dollars (factory in Georgia) to jump into a market that has been in decline for the last 10 years, with a sharp descent the last 2 years. On top of that, 60% of their target is eliminating the product from their diet. At launch the initial investment is well over $300 including “pods,” which don’t taste like the real thing. At 8 ounces a day the budget for soda is over $450 a year. That’s a $750 initial investment. An equivalent budget for 2 liters would yield one 2 liter every day for 2 years. MAKES SENSE Keurig. BTW, Who the hell wants to wait for their soda to cook up?
    Unique Product FAIL (easily reproducible)
    Target Market FAIL (no demand)
    Value Add FAIL (In fact, this is the most expensive, yet no return for the extra expense)
    Ok I’m done now. ~~takes a sip of his $1.25 750ml Gerolsteiner Mineral Water~~ lol

  • Paxmax

    For the fricken waste of space and price, I can buy a mini-fridge and stuff it with cans of soda, it also comes with the advantage of serving said soda in seconds instead of one minute this KLOD system operates at. Mini-fridge system is also compatible with Coke, Pepsi, beer, cider, alcopops. F’ng idiot came up with this system. The only reason to buy KLOD device would if it also could do soft-ice.

  • Josh

    I thought it’d be a cool idea when it was first announced, but at roughly $1/8 oz…. not worth it. My wife and I drink quite a bit of soda as is. And we want to try and find a GOOD way of producing our own at home. I might consider giving SodaStream a shot, because at these pod prices, my wife and I would be spending $5/day on pods and we drink soda approximately 3-5 days a week. I don’t even want to figure out that math

  • Robert

    Pour the contents of the cup in your mouth and get a carbonation high.

  • Michele Lightfield

    Being a prior user of Sodastream and after a week with Keurig’s new Kold Machine…

    Cons – Large Machine Footprint, cost of pods, challenging recycling of #7 plastic pods, limited 8 oz serving size.

    Pros – Easy to store a variety of brand name and high end pods (vs liter bottles or cans), perfectly chilled drinks that taste really good (much better than Sodastream). The diet drinks are very good.

    I’m hoping that, as with the coffee pods, cost will come down for the Kold pods and Keurig will offer some variety in drink sizes. Keurig is working on transitioning to #5 plastic, which will make recycling easier, although Keurig does have a good take-back recycling program.

    Bottom line, this is an expensive convenience item. It’s great if you like Coca-Cola products and have the patience to wait a minute for the machine to dispense your drink. I’m looking forward to seeing what Keurig does with the Kold product line.

    • Greg

      Finally. It’s nice to see read a review from someone who actually has the product, instead of everyone else condemning it based upon the “business model” without having used it. Thanks for this comment. Based on your review, I’ll be buying one.

  • Steve G

    Why has nobody mentioned the real problem: after 6 weeks, it remains almost impossible to get the Kold Pods needed for this machine! The article says they will cost $.99 to $1.29 per 8 oz drink — bah! That’s so not true. The minimum is $4.99 for a pack of 4 (which is $1.25 per drink) — but in fact, the only easy place to buy them is Amazon.com and even their Prime service charges $14.50 for 4! That’s a mark-up of almost 300%!!! It costs $3.62 per 8-oz. glass assuming you don’t forget to peel the safety seal off, in which case the price goes up astronomically as the pods are useless (the carbon dioxide balls are dead but the syrup remains; so you have to throw them away). Ugh, what a waste and how frustrating. The machines don’t even come with a Kold Pod sampler — you get two glasses (which does you no good without pods) along with your $379 purchase. But no pods, and they’re impossible to get in local stores. So .. you just stare at your massive, heavy drink maker and wish you could have a drink. It’s incredible (in a bad way).

  • I get the Davinci syrups at about $4 / 750ml which might yield 20-30 twelve to sixteen oz. drinks…especially if you drink them dry…as I tend to do…then about 60L of water gets carbonated for about $25 with the sodastream…so…that’s maybe 41 cents a liter…a liter makes about 3 nicely sized drinks…each requiring 14 cents in syrup…I figure each drink runs about 30 cents…maybe 40 for ultra-sugary….far less than half of the $$ that the new Keurig rig will make a drink for…

  • Pat

    I have a question not a comment. I bought the keurig kold and i love it my question is do you leave it running all the time? It is kind of noisy so i’m wondering if you shut it off is it going to do anything to water that’s in the container.

  • Liz Gilmore

    The fact that the Keurig Kold has the capability to dispense plain cold water is what attracts me. No more storing jugs of water in the fridge or freezer. We have a large family of eleven and cold storage space for foodstuffs is limited enough without having to store bottles of water to make, say, a 16.9 ounce cold bottle of delicious, sugar free Crush Pineapple drink with a packet of “Singles to go!” drink mix.
    We’ve had a Keurig Hot for quite some time and we adore it. Now we’re looking forward to purchasing the much anticipated Keurig Kold.

Cancel

Leave a Comment