Nespresso

Nespresso is the brand name of Nestlé Nespresso S.A., an operating unit of the Nestlé Group, based in Lausanne, Switzerland. Nespresso machines brew espresso as well as full size coffee from coffee capsules (pods in bar machines), a type of pre-apportioned single-use container of ground coffee and flavorings. The company sells its system of machines and capsules worldwide, as well as the VertuoLine system in North America. History: In 1976, Eric Favre, an employee of Nestlé, invented, patented and introduced the Nespresso system to the business market in Switzerland without significant success. In 1988, due to the efforts of Jean-Paul Gaillard — a business man, the inventor of «Le Club» community —, the product became a market success. In 1990, the firm signed a contract with Turmix, which started to sell Nespresso machines in Switzerland. Thereafter, other contracts were signed with Krups, Magimix, Alessi, Philips, Siemens and De'Longhi. The first patent application for Nespresso's process of brewing espresso from capsules containing ground coffee was filed in 1996. The Nespresso Company manufactures both machines and the capsules they use, and makes most of its money from the capsules. Nespresso machines and their capsules can be purchased in Nespresso stores, by mail-order, or many other consumer appliance stores. The company fights off producers of cheaper compatible capsules in court. However, following an adverse ruling in a French court, Nespresso decided against continuing to fight such cases in other European countries. In 2014, discount retailer Lidl started to offer a limited range of Nespresso compatible capsules at a much lower price in countries where Nespresso was otherwise available. Marketing: Social media, such as Facebook, have been used to promote the product in the form of an interactive Facebook page and celebrities, such as George Clooney, Danny DeVito, Matt Damon, Jack Black and John Malkovich, have been used to market the product. The brand's current slogan is What else?. The brand Nespresso is the subject of continued promotional campaigns around the world. Promotions include bonus coffee capsules sold with the machine. TV commercials also feature Penelope Cruz, including a longer promotional video on Nespresso's site and YouTube with Cruz and Jimmy Kimmel. Market: Packaged portions of espresso coffee like those from Nespresso has become one of the fastest growing segments of the coffee market, accounting for 20 to 40 percent of the value of ground coffee sales in the European coffee market which totals USD 17 billion. In August 2010, it was reported that Nespresso sales have been growing at an average of 30 percent per year over the past 10 years and more than 20 billion capsules have been sold since 2000 at a current selling price equivalent to about USD 0.43 to USD 0.62 per capsule. Nespresso reported annual sales of CHF 3 billion in 2011, growing by 20% during the fiscal year.