LOUISVILLE, KY. — There’s something brewing at GE Appliances.
In an industry first, the white-goods maker has capitalized on double-digit growth in single-cup coffee brewing by incorporating a Keurig system into a pair of its Café French-door refrigerators.
The forthcoming CFE- and CYE28USHSS models feature a built-in, dishwasher-safe Keurig K-Cup singlecup brewer that can accommodate over 400 coffee varieties from more than 60 major brands, including Folgers, Maxwell House, Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, Eight O’Clock, Community Coffee and Peet’s Coffee and Tea.
GE described the feature as an evolution of the Café platform’s unique hot water dispenser, and the result of consumer feedback.
“Over the last couple years GE surveyed Café French door refrigerator consumers who have the hot water feature,” said refrigeration marketing manager Dan Goldstein. “They asked us, ‘When can we have a refrigerator that dispenses coffee or tea?’”
In fact, two-thirds said they’d be interested in a single-serve hot beverage dispenser, he noted, inspiring GE and Keurig to pursue the development of the industry’s first built-in, single-serve brewing system from a refrigerator.
Besides freeing up counter space, the Café fridges also feature connected technology that allows users to preset the brew time via their mobile devices, as well as an advanced filtration system that removes 98 percent of five trace pharmaceuticals from tap water.
The fridges, which debuted at last week’s International Builders’ Show (IBS) in Las Vegas, are expected to ship in the third quarter and will carry a manufacturer’s suggested retail of $3,300.
See the Feb. 2 issue of TWICE for complete coverage of IBS and the Kitchen/Bath Industry Show (KBIS).
