Coffee giant launches radical new espresso machine that's challenging Keurig's K-Cups

Lavazza wants to change the way Americans make espresso with a new single-serve system that challenges Keurig's market dominance.

The Italian coffee giant's innovation involves compressed ground-coffee tablets, called Tablì, made without coatings, binders, or gelatin and lacking disposable plastic containers like K-Cups.

Naturally, you'll need to buy a special new espresso machine to make coffee with Tablì.

The new product lineup includes options for single and double espresso, decaf, super crema and lungo - a longer espresso brewed with extra water.

Six years after acquiring Italian startup Caffemotive in 2020, Lavazza has finally brought Tablì to market, backed by 15 patents and a new production facility in Gattinara, Italy.

'The US is one of the most dynamic markets in the world, and the momentum we've built here across our different segments is exactly why we're bringing Tablì here,' said Lavazza North America's vice president of marketing Daniele Foti.

The new product is part of Lavazza's push to become a dominant force in the US coffee market, especially after the company reported a 26.9 percent jump in revenue in 2025.

Keurig's coffee pods have been controversial for years because of the amount of waste they create, and Lavazza is betting that Americans still want to lower their environmental impact with a more environmentally-friendly product.

Lavazza's CEO Antonio Baravalle told CNBC that the company is targeting $1.15 billion in US sales.

The company is privately owned by the Lavazza family, which has controlled the business for more than 130 years.

According to its latest annual report, the company posted net profits of $92 million on revenues of $3.9 billion in 2024.

Much of its US momentum has come through major retailers such as Target and Walmart, where Lavazza generates more than $100 million in annual sales.

But the company still trails industry heavyweight Keurig, which reported $3.99 billion in net sales for its US coffee segment in 2025.

The bulk of Keurig's business comes from its popular K-Cups, single-serve pods that have become a staple in millions of American homes and have dominated the market for more than a decade.

In total, Keurig holds roughly half of the US market for single-serve coffee pods. Lavazza also sells K-Cup-compatible pods in the US, though it does so through a partnership with Keurig.

Despite Lavazza's stronger overall earnings, Baravalle acknowledged he does not expect the company to overtake Keurig or Nestlé's Nespresso brand, which holds about 7 percent of the US market.

Still, Lavazza is betting on differentiation with Tablì, which is set to launch in August.

Priced at $99.99, the bundle includes the machine, a 60-count variety pack of coffee tablets and a milk frother, and is available for pre-order on the company's website.

In May, Baravalle said Lavazza was still finalizing its pricing strategy as it gauges consumer appetite for the new system.

'We are also waiting to see how some of the industry's biggest competitors respond and whether they launch something similar,' he said. 'But Lavazza has a premium positioning, and we're not going to move away from that.'