A new company is betting that swapping plastic for aluminum in single-serve coffee pods could significantly cut household waste while actually improving taste — and the team behind it includes several former executives from one of the biggest names in the coffee industry.
Cambio Roasters launched with the aim of tackling the enormous footprint of single-serve coffee pods. When Keurig Dr. Pepper reported in early 2024 that roughly 40 million American households owned a Keurig system, it also highlighted the staggering number of plastic pods ending up in landfills. Cambio’s answer: make the pods from aluminum instead.
The reasoning goes beyond waste reduction. Plastic pods allow oxygen to seep in, which gradually degrades the coffee’s flavor. Aluminum keeps everything sealed air-tight, preserving freshness much longer.
The founding team brings deep industry experience. CEO Kevin Hartley previously held a C-suite role at Keurig Green Mountain before its merger with Dr Pepper. COO Mike Cunningham and CMO Dave Sachs also came from Keurig’s executive ranks, while co-founder Ann Hutson brings strategic marketing expertise.
All four executives credit their time at Keurig with shaping their understanding of what consumers want: consistency, speed, and zero mess. But they also noticed growing unease about single-use plastic, and research from the University of Birmingham found microplastics in coffee brewed from plastic pods, with particles traced directly back to the pod material itself.
Aluminum solves the recycling problem that plastic pods face. Small plastic pods frequently get lost in sorting machinery and end up in landfill. Virgin plastic is also cheaper than recycled material, removing the economic incentive to recycle. Aluminum is more valuable to recyclers and its shape expands during the crushing process, making it easier to sort and far less likely to be missed.
There is a secondary waste benefit too. Dump coffee from traditional drip brewers is still the biggest single consumer of brewed coffee — people pour out stale or unwanted cups constantly. Single-serve systems eliminate that waste entirely since each cup is made fresh.
Cambio Roasters has committed to dedicating 20 percent of its profits to supporting coffee-farming families, an effort the leadership sees as increasingly important to consumers who want their purchases to align with their values.
Read more about Keurig Dr. Pepper’s 2024 outlook, and the broader research on microplastics in coffee pods.