text: Single-serve coffee capsules in 2014 hit over $3 billion in US sales, it's been revealed. The finding was unveiled in a CBS News report by Susan Spencer on one such company that manufactures them, the Vermont-based Keurig Green Mountain. Speaking to Spencer, Keurig's chief technology officer Kevin Sullivan explained the appeal of his company's single-serve coffee machine is that users can 'Just close the handle and touch a button, and away it goes.' Scroll down for video . Success: Keurig's chief technology officer Kevin Sullivan has said that single-serve coffee has 'found the hidden need - the need that people didn't know they had' Keurig Green Mountain's single-serve capsules in 2014 hit over $3 billion in US sales . CBS News revealed that Keurig Green Mountain has proved highly successfully and made $4.7 billion in revenue. Among its many coffee flavors available, Keurig sells on its website Krispy Kreme, Starbucks, Folgers, Dunkin Donuts and Kahlua options. Prices vary, but 24-counts of single-serve coffee capsules - often simply referred to as K-Cups - usually have list prices between $15.49 and $17.99, with members paying slightly less. 'Single serve, I think, found the hidden need - the need that people didn't know they had,' Sullivan said during the interview. 1/3 of homes in the United States now feature single-serve coffee machines, CBS News reported. Spencer said in the interview 'A cup of coffee made this way is not necessarily cheap.' Sullivan answered 'It's less expensive than if you go to a coffee shop, but it's more expensive than if you bought a pound of coffee and did your drip grind.' Big hit: Keurig Green Mountain has also made $4.7 billion in revenue, and 1/3 of homes in the US reportedly feature single-serve coffee machines . Science: Keurig employees are seen with coffee equipment at the company's offices . At one point in the interview, Spencer posed the question 'So where is Keurig now in terms of making these things recyclable?' 'We've been hard at work to solve that problem,' Sullivan answered. 'We introduced a system called Vue that has cups that are, in fact, recyclable. 'We have a company objective that everything will be recyclable by the year 2020. We certainly aren't going to wait that long. I think we're going to start that much sooner, and hopefully convert sooner than that.' Keurig has said on its website that a new type of K-Cup is being created, and that 'we intend to move toward polypropylene (#5) plastic for the cup itself — a material often used in common household items, such as yogurt and butter containers.' The company said the material 'is [...] accepted by recyclers in approximately 60% of communities in the United States and 93% of communities in Canada.' According to Keurig, the company is 'working with the recycling community and other partners to develop a more robust recycling infrastructure that accepts #5 plastics in even more communities and that can consistently capture small items, such as our portion packs.'
target: Keurig Green Mountain's single-serve capsules in 2014 hit over $3 billion in US sales, it's been revealed .
  The company has also made $4.7 billion in revenue .
  1/3 of homes in the US reportedly feature single-serve coffee machines .
  Keurig's chief technology officer Kevin Sullivan has said 'Single serve, I think, found the hidden need - the need that people didn't know they had'