Nespresso: Nestlé changes strategy - and introduces new capsules
Created: 11/22/2022 13:21
By: Lisa Mayerhofer
For years, Nespresso manufacturer Nestlé has faced massive accusations from environmentalists.
(Archive image) © Zuma Wire/Xavi Lopez/Imago
Nestlé's luxury coffee brand Nespresso is giving in after years of criticism from environmentalists and will start a pilot project with capsules made of paper instead of aluminum next year.
Vevey – Testimonial George Clooney doesn't help either: For years, Nespresso manufacturer Nestlé has faced massive accusations from environmentalists.
The reason: Nespresso coffee capsules are made from environmentally harmful aluminum and also generate unnecessary waste compared to other methods.
Consumers are also paying more and more attention to sustainability - and Nespresso is now making a change.
Nespresso changes strategy: paper instead of aluminium
For years, the company insisted on its aluminum capsules - they would preserve the taste much better than capsules made of other materials.
Nespresso developed the coffee capsule method 36 years ago, but has since lost market share.
More and more consumers are using compostable capsules that are not made from aluminium.
In addition, the patent on the capsules expired in 2011.
Other providers such as Migros or Mondelez are now also producing coffee capsules for Nespresso machines.
In addition, Migros recently announced that it would sell its new CoffeeB coffee system in Germany from April 2023 – with the help of retailer Edeka.
Migros relies on coffee capsules that can be completely composted at home.
Nestlé makes billions with Nespresso
Nespresso is now changing its strategy - and will start a pilot project in France and Switzerland next spring with home-compostable paper-based coffee capsules.
The products are intended to complement the range of aluminum capsules.
The new packaging should be biodegradable and at the same time protect the coffee from oxidation.
It is very important for Nestlé to regain ground in the lucrative business with coffee capsules and not to be overwhelmed by the competition.
According to a report by Die
Welt
, coffee in a Nespresso capsule costs the equivalent of 75.44 euros per kilo.
That is many times the price of ground coffee in the supermarket.
This enabled the group to generate sales of a gigantic 6.4 billion Swiss francs (about 6.5 billion euros) last year.