An American coffee giant is downsizing — but only in name.
Maxwell House recently announced it is changing its name for the first time in its 133-year history to “Maxwell Apartment.”
Why?
Well, with “nearly a third (of Americans) opting to rent versus purchase a home,” according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the brand says it’s aiming to help today’s consumer, who faces rising coffee and home prices, save with affordable coffee.
“Two-thirds of American adults drink coffee every day, which can add up quickly, especially these days,” said Holly Ramsden, head of coffee for North America for Kraft Heinz, Maxwell House’s parent company, in a press release. “Maxwell House believes no one should have to go without great tasting coffee and Maxwell Apartment delivers the same delicious taste people know and love, at a value that celebrates all our fans are doing to make smart choices in their lives.”
Maxwell House is now Maxwell Apartment. Kraft Heinz
To celebrate National Coffee Day, which was on Sept. 29, the brand is offering customers a 12-month “lease” of Maxwell Apartment, designed to stock up coffee lovers nationwide — four 27.5-ounce canisters of Maxwell Apartment coffee for $39.99. (For context, a single, 27.5-ounce canister of Maxwell House coffee is about $13 on Amazon.)
The company cites statistics that say java drinkers could save more than $1,000 a year with the offer, compared to daily coffee shop runs.
Along with what the brand is calling a “full year of coffee,” the bundle of rebranded canisters, which is available on Amazon, will come with an official Maxwell Apartment “lease” to sign.
Maxwell House says the limited-time rebrand to Maxwell Apartment is in name only and the product inside is the same in “taste, aroma, quality and ingredients.”
Other brand name changes in recent years
Brand name changes, both temporary and permanent, seem to be all the rage as a marketing device.
Most recently, in January, Starbucks changed its name on its website and app to “The Starbucks Coffee Company,” though its legal name remains the Starbucks Corporation.
Coors Light announced earlier that month that it was temporarily changing its name to “Mondays Light” in support of people who went too hard on Super Bowl Sunday.
In October 2024, Goldfish briefly changed its name to “Chilean Sea Bass” in a cheeky ploy to appeal to adults.
And in September 2024, The Campbell Soup Company permanently dropped the “soup” from its name, rebranding as The Campbell’s Company after more than 100 years.
Back in 2022, Kraft Heinz permanently shortened the name of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese to “Kraft Mac & Cheese” to better reflect the way customers talk about the brand.
Setting off this trend, in 2018, IHOP briefly rebranded to “IHOb” to promote a new line of burgers, which had flapjack fans flipping out.
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