The Familiar Coffee Company Behind Costco's K-Cups

It's common for a large store's private label products to be made by another company. For example, Sara Lee is behind the Walmart Great Value brand of coffees, including K-cups. And, at Costco, Kirkland Signature brand K-cups are made by Green Mountain Roasters. The partnership was created in 2012 and continued throughout the mergers and name changes for Green Mountain. Green Mountain Roasters merged with Keurig, but after some reshuffling Green Mountain is now part of the Keurig Dr Pepper conglomerate. But, most importantly, the Green Mountain roasters company still makes Kirkland Signature K-cups.

Keurig Dr Pepper also owns The Original Donut Shop coffee brand and partners with Twinning's Tea. Other coffee brand partnerships include Starbucks and Tim Hortons. It's important to note that Kirkland boasts several types of K-cups, and partnerships other than Green Mountain Roasters are identified on the Kirkland box — like those with Tim Horton's and Starbucks.

Kirkland Signature K-cups made by Green Mountain Roasters don't reveal this partnership on the packaging. Instead, only Kirkland's private label information is listed on the back of the box. As fans of the warehouse know, this is common for Kirkland partnerships throughout the store. Costco doesn't label its aisles, but it does indicate a brand behind the product when that information is known to add value. For example, Kirkland Signature House Blend Coffee carries the Starbucks logo to cash in on Starbucks cachet — but at a lower price than the Starbucks-branded coffee further down the aisle.

The Kirkland Signature business model began in 1995 with 30 products. Kirkland Signature has had some flops, but with over 350 products and counting, it's a juggernaut that rakes in $58 billion for Costco, annually. The incognito names behind Kirkland products typically come out when the companies are bought, sold, or merged. The Green Mountain Roasters and Kirkland Signature partnership was disclosed when it began in 2012 and remains intact as of 2025. Whether it's thanks to a flawless business strategy, or the fact that K-cup fans keep the revenue rolling in — or both — coffee has powers we're only beginning to understand.