Lavazza launches tab-based coffee system for the U.S. market

Lavazza is trying to redraw the U.S. single-serve map with Tablì, a tab-based coffee system built from 100 percent coffee instead of the plastic capsules and wrapped pods that still define much of the aisle. The Italian company launched the format in the United States on June 8, betting that speed, espresso quality and less packaging can live inside one closed system.

Tablì arrives with five varieties at launch: espresso, double espresso, decaf espresso, super crema and lungo. Lavazza says the tabs contain no coating, binder or gelatin, and the system runs on a dedicated Lavazza machine, a design choice that makes the product as much about category design as convenience. The promise is simple enough for the home counter: café-style espresso in seconds, with no grinding, measuring or setup.

The company says the project took five years of development, more than 15 patents and a new production facility in Gattinara, Italy. Lavazza’s own materials trace the idea back to its 2020 acquisition of Italian startup Caffemotive and its tab concept, which the company later previewed at Milan Design Week 2025 in an installation called “Source of Pleasure” by Brazilian architect and designer Juliana Lima Vasconcellos. Antonio Baravalle is tying that development story to the company’s broader U.S. push, with Lavazza North America calling the rollout its biggest U.S. investment yet.

That ambition lands in a market that is still enormous and still crowded. Industry research values the U.S. coffee pods and capsules business at $9.58 billion in 2025, rising to $10.15 billion in 2026 and reaching $13.55 billion by 2031. Keurig Dr Pepper remains the dominant single-serve player, Nespresso is still a major premium espresso rival, and Lavazza already sells K-Cup pods through a partnership with Keurig. Tablì does not replace that business, but it signals that Lavazza wants a second lane in the market, one that could appeal to drinkers who want the ritual speed of a pod machine without the pod.

That is the real test now: whether Tablì is a genuine breakthrough for eco-conscious espresso drinkers, or a closed-system gamble that only works if households accept a whole new machine standard. Lavazza has already shown its hand. The next fight is over whether the tab can make the pod aisle feel outdated.