ABCD - A Tradition of Innovation

K. Cyrus Melikian of Automatic Brewers and Coffee Devices, Inc. invented coffee pods forty years ago. Cyrus holds a number of patents for coffee making equipment and was recently recognized as "Man of the Year" by a noted trade journal. "When I co-invented the automatic coffee machine people would laugh at me, and now you can find them all over the world. Sales are measured in billions of dollars," said Cyrus, "and we always tell people that the best is yet to come!"

Bob Melikian, president of ABCD, also has a long history with extensive experience in the coffee industry. He earned his degree from St. Joseph’s University in 1969 and immediately started working in the coffee service industry. Together with his father Cyrus, the Melikians purchased one of the divisions of Rudd-Melikian, Inc. This division produced single cup fresh brew coffee brewers using tape technology. This was Bob’s first experience with pods. Their first marketing successes were in the European market; this exposure to the Italian espresso market would be beneficial later as espresso became more popular in the United States. In 1980, Bob went on to earn his MBA in Marketing from St. Joseph's.