Bruvi’s single-serve coffee machine hopes to compete with the two dominant players in the market: Keurig … [+]
A year ago, Mel Elias, former CEO of Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, a popular coffee chain in the United States, launched his latest venture, Bruvi.
Alongside co-founder Sung Ho, he wants to take on the world’s largest single-serve coffee brand, Keurig, which he says has more than 90% market share when it comes to coffee machines. single serving used at home to prepare coffee. .
But this is not the first time he has attempted this adventure. At Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Elias saw that there was room in the market for another brand – one that he believes takes a closer look at coffee quality and its footprint. However, it was 2011 and internet direct-to-consumer companies were still gaining a foothold. During this time, working with big box retailers was difficult and expensive. So it didn’t really take off.
Bruvi co-founder Mel Elias ran Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and was instrumental in the sale of the company. … [+]
“During my tenure at Coffee Bean, we launched a unique licensed service system outside of Europe. And it just wasn’t the right time and the wrong product. But during all this expansion, I learned a lot about single servings, and you know, what consumers want and what they don’t want, and how the whole system works,” he says.
This iteration only produced espresso-based drinks. Americans, he learned, like a bigger cup of coffee, so the product needs tweaking.
So when he was able to come back with a new design, he made many improvements. And over the years, interest and demand for single-serve coffee has only increased, he says. “Over the past five years, the amount of single-serve coffee has increased by 50% and literally makes up 50% of every coffee item you buy at retail. Americans, and the world, love the convenience, affordability, and ease of these machines.
Additionally, during the pandemic, many people have invested in home coffee machines to enjoy a better cup of coffee while working from home. Elias notes that single-serve machines outsold regular coffee machines in 2020, selling more than 11 million units in the United States alone.
But all this has a downside: more than 71 billion coffee capsules are consumed each year. America itself uses about 22 billion, he says. And much of this waste is not recycled or disposed of properly. Even though many capsules sold on the market are presented as being recyclable, they are actually not recycled.
So Elias found a different solution: using enzymes to break down their capsules. This is not new technology. In 2016, Japanese researchers have discovered that certain bacteria can help break down plastics. And since then, many studies have been conducted on different types of enzymes that could help reduce plastic waste in landfills.
“It’s actually really weird how simple the solution is, and how incredible the combination of political convenience and powerful lobbying and the fact that people aren’t adopting the solution,” says Elias .
Bruvi pods contain an enzyme that allows plastic to break down in landfills, Elias … [+]
Bruvi therefore added an enzyme to the capsule which helps break down plastic sent to landfill. This means that Bruvi actually encourages customers to throw the pods in the trash and not recycle. Recycling, Elias explains, doesn’t work for a multitude of reasons: from clogged recycling machines, dirty pods, and recycling varying from region to region.
Instead, he is more intrigued by the existing landfill network. Modern managed landfills, he says, must follow certain procedures and protocols that require them to cover waste with topsoil, prevent contamination of local water systems and have gas collection systems. Forty percent of America’s more than 1,200 landfills (of which, he notes, 80 percent are run by three companies) actually have gas-to-power projects that convert methane emissions into clean energy. “It already exists today!” he iterates.
The Bruvi capsule only works in anaerobic environments: it therefore only decomposes when covered with soil or waste. And according to tests carried out by Bruvi, 70% of the capsule has broken down in 2 years, and does not leave behind microplastics once completely broken down. Assuming that the landfill it is located in has a gas-to-energy project, we can say that the capsule did not create waste but was part of a cycle used to capture renewable energy.
Elias goes on to provide additional clarification: “The Association for Plastic Recycling has estimated that if someone puts enzymes in a plastic, it cannot be recycled. Then it must pass a critical design test.
So even though the capsule is made from 100% polypropylene, Elias says it is more suitable for landfill due to the added enzymes than through the recycling route.
“But [this innovation] is not exclusive to Bruvi,” he adds. “Any plastic manufacturer can achieve this by adding an enzyme to the plastic. But the message about this is difficult. Is this going to the landfill?! That’s not a good word these days. However, pots of yogurt, other capsules, containers of applesauce. There are countless CPG products this would be perfect for. That’s why we want other companies to be excited about this and take note of Bruvi to think about it.
He hopes that when people see Bruvi taking the lead in this area, marketing it in a product that consumers use every day, it might push lobbying organizations and recycling authorities to rethink their approach to plastics. Given that no solution is perfect at this time and he notes that compostable packaging comes with its own challenges, companies should explore all avenues – including those that may not be perfect – in their effort to be more respectful of the environment.
However, this is not an excuse to use more plastic everywhere, he says. For example, Bruvi ships its machines in plastic-free packaging, using a cotton bag to prevent the machine from being scratched during transport. Paper packaging is limited and only where needed.
Still, he says, pods must offer freshness, ease of use and work well in the machine. Right now, he says plastic does the best. The focus for him is therefore on how to reduce the plastic footprint in landfills.
Could this solution be one of many employing companies in the coming years as packaging materials develop and improve? He’s betting on it. And for those who still want to forgo single-use pods, Bruvi now offers a reusable pod.