Keurig introduces new pod design that lacks one significant trait

Keurig Dr. Pepper has a single-serve Keurig coffee pod that doesn’t have any plastic in the pipeline.

The beverage company revealed the sustainable type of pod, K-Rounds, earlier this month, saying they would be free of both plastic and aluminum.

The new pods were “created from expertly roasted coffee beans that are ground, pressed and wrapped in a proprietary, protective plant-based coating,” Keurig Dr. Pepper said.

The company is also in the process of getting them certified as compostable.

K-Rounds notably won’t be able to be used with existing Keurig coffee brewers. Instead, Keurig Dr. Pepper has geared them toward its yet-to-be-released Alta brewer.

With the coffee machine, the company aims to “allow consumers to make a variety of hot and cold barista-style beverages … without having to master complex brewing techniques,” according to a press release.

The Alta-compatible K-Rounds will have different sizes and codes for various drinks, the company said. Meanwhile, the traditional K-Cup pods will also work with the Alta.

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Keurig Dr. Pepper said the K-Rounds and the Alta machine arise from a “multi-year innovation project which incorporates significant intellectual property in beverage, pod, appliance and manufacturing design and processes.”

The company expects to start putting the Alta and K-Rounds through beta-testing later this year. It said it would “refine and optimize” them based on the feedback before officially putting the products on the market.

The number of U.S. households that use Keurig brewers hit roughly 40 million in the fourth quarter, according to Keurig Dr. Pepper.

In addition to its Keurig coffee business, the company has brands like 7-Up, Snapple, Canada Dry and Sunkist under its purview.

Keurig Dr. Pepper’s market cap hovered around $41.16 billion on Thursday afternoon.