Mother Parkers Tea & Coffee, the makers of RealCup™ single-serve capsules, agrees with TreeHouse Foods that the needs of consumers are best served by free and open competition.
On Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2014, TreeHouse Foods filed suit against Keurig Inc. and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc., alleging that it engaged in anti-competitive acts to unlawfully maintain its monopoly over the cups used in single-serve brewers.
Since 2012, when Keurig's® K-Cup® patents expired, independent manufacturers, through both their financial investment and innovation, have helped to expand the single-serve coffee category on the basis of open and fair competition. "The patents have expired; consumers have declared that they want choice," said Bill VandenBygaart, vice president of business development at Mother Parkers, in a prepared statement. "In our opinion, this action by Keurig as well as the pattern of anticompetitive activities described in the complaint will continue to hurt the category."
Mother Parkers believes that open competition leads to product innovation, improved quality and great consumer value. "Coffee drinkers should decide which coffee they will brew, not Keurig® or Green Mountain Coffee Roasters®," said VandenBygaart. "We support efforts to keep the single-serve business open to competition and believe that competition will deliver a better cup of coffee or tea."
