• by Steve Ellwanger , March 9, 2023

Image above: Brad Pitt next to his girlfriend, Ines de Ramon, both relaxing over TrueBrewed coffee.

Increased consumer mobility and the possible recession’s impact on discretionary spending are two factors that will influence at-home, coffee-brewing systems—sales of which declined last year after growing during the worst of the pandemic.

Keurig Dr Pepper and De'Longhi are hoping that coffee systems equipped to brew over ice will help to increase household penetration amid a growing preference among younger generations for cold-coffee options.

After adding its machines to 3 million+ households in both 2021 and 2022, Keurig Dr Pepper gained just over 2 million households last year.

“As we approached the end of the year and entered 2023, we became more focused on the potential impact of recession on our consumers—despite seeing minimal evidence of changing behavior to date,” the company’s chairman and CEO, Robert Gamgort, told analysts on an earnings call last month.

Entering this year, Keurig Dr Pepper coffee systems were in 38 million U.S. households.

“Innovation is a key driver of household penetration,” said CFO Sudhanshu Priyadarshi.

However, a few other variables also come into play.

“There are three reasons consumers buy brewers,” Priyadarshi explained. “It's a new household, it's a replacement of an existing brewer or it's an upgrade.”

In addition to introducing the K-Cafe Smart system last year, Keurig Dr Pepper expanded availability of the K-Slim + Iced single-serve coffee maker.

“In 2023, iced will be a significant focus area for Keurig, with expanded machines and pods, supported by dedicated marketing and focused retailer support,” said Gamgort.

Competitor De'Longhi has just introduced the TrueBrew coffee machine—which prepares ground coffee hot or over ice without using filters or pods.

A year ago, De'Longhi enlisted actor Brad Pitt to tout the Dinamica Plus expresso machine.

Now Pitt is back in a new campaign for TrueBrew—whose three models sell for $399, $499 and $599.

In this 60-second spot, Pitt is seen camping with his girlfriend, Ines de Ramon, and a  dog before retreating to a house and using TrueBrew to make a hot coffee for himself and iced for de Ramon.

"Partnering with Brad again just made sense," Maria Colon, vice president of marketing and consumer experience for De’Longhi North America, tells Marketing Daily. "We recognize that a machine as revolutionary as TrueBrew should have a marketing approach that is just as unique to match its caliber."