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 from special capsules containing ground coffee.

History since 1976

The Nespresso system was introduced by Éric Favre to the business market in Switzerland but without the expected success. In 1988, thanks to Jean-Paul Gaillard, the product became a market success. (Jean-Paul Gaillard is known as a business man, the inventor of «Le Club» community.) 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 and Philips.

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 the machines and the capsules they use. Nespresso machines and their capsules can be bought in Nespresso stores, mail-order, or many other consumer appliance stores.

Machines

thumb|left|250px|A pair of Nespresso Magimix M100 machines Nespresso offer a number of different machines for sale. The machines carry the brand names of well known kitchen equipment manufacturers such as Krups, Magimix, Siemens, and DeLonghi, but mostly they are manufactured by the Swiss company Eugster/Frismag, one of the world's largest coffee machine producers. Although based in Switzerland, Eugster/Frismag also manufactures in China under the Krups, Turmix, Delonghi and Magimix brands. Often Krups and Magimix store display models are "Made in Switzerland" (noted on the bottom of the machine)and others machines come from China. The ''Lattissima'' models are manufactured by DeLonghi. Eugster/Frismag is little known to the public because the company is strictly an original equipment manufacturer. In 2000, Nespresso began distributing machines bearing the "Nespresso" brand.

In August 2011 Australian brand Kogan announced they were developing the "Ez-press", a coffee machine compatible with Nespresso pods.

Capsules

Nespresso capsules are sold exclusively by Nespresso and are more expensive than portions of ground coffee purchased "loose". The cost per serving is up to three times higher than that of alternative brewing methods.

Nespresso offer 16 different coffee "Grands Crus" arabica and robusta. Two Limited Edition Grand Crus are released every year as well as a new set of Variations, flavored espresso capsules. In 2009 the Variations flavors were Crème de marrons (Chestnut Cream), Apricot and Pain d’Épice (Gingerbread). In 2010 the Variations flavors were Vanilla, Caramel and Almond.

Each capsule makes one cup of coffee. A capsule contains an average 5.5 grams of coffee. This is true both in the home and professional ranges for Nespresso (82 capsules contain one pound). While this quantity is generally accepted as correct for the preparation of espresso, other systems of pods, such as ESE (Easy Serving Espresso), use 7 grams. An espresso is ideally served at , a half espresso (ristretto) at and a Lungo at .

Refillable Nespresso-compatible capsules are manufactured by Dutch company Coffeeduck. They make two different refillable capsules; one for Nespresso machines made before October 2010 and one for machines made after October 2010 (after Nespresso changed the design of their machines). The refillable capsules are dishwasher safe, 'maintain the foam layer' and can also be used for loose leaf tea and various types of cocoa powder.

The capsule material and perforated top are both made of aluminum. For health reasons, the interior of most of the capsule is lined with a "food grade shellac" Shellac is the resin of the LAC insect and therefore is not kosher, unless the product bears a reliable symbol (hechsher) of kosher status.

Process

Nespresso's hermetically sealed capsules are made of aluminium foil. When the capsule is inserted into the machine, the top of the capsule is pierced. Some machines make a single large hole, and others make a number of smaller holes. When the machine is activated it pumps in hot water under high pressure. This causes the flat bottom of the capsule to bow out, as this is made of thinner foil than the rest of the capsule. The base of the capsule holder (on which the capsule sits) has a number of raised squares which cause the foil to rupture at these points. The brewed coffee exits the capsule through these rupture holes and flows into the coffee cup. There is a pressure release valve inside the brewing chamber which prevents an explosion occurring if the coffee exhaust path becomes blocked.

The spent capsule must finally be removed from the holder; on some machines this is automated.

Marketing

Social media, such as Facebook has been used to promote the product in the form of an interactive Facebook page and celebrities, such as George Clooney 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.

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.

Criticism

Cost

Officially, Nespresso does not allow customers to purchase coffee capsule from other sources. As a result, choice of flavours is limited and there is limited competitive downward pressure on capsule prices. Nespresso seeks to position the brand as an exclusive luxury good. Even so, the price of capsules in 2011 ranged from US$0.57 to $0.64 each, which on a cost-per-cup basis compares favorably with any restaurant or coffee shop. In March 2011, the Swiss discount supermarket, Denner, won a court battle with Nestlé over the sale of Nespresso compatible capsules. The plastic capsules are approximately half the retail price as the genuine Nespresso capsules.

Business model

The concept (machine, capsule, service) is protected by 70 patents which protects Nespresso's ownership of the concept until the patents expire. This contrasts with some other prepackaged coffee preparation systems. This has led to comparisons of Nespresso with printer manufacturers that tried to hinder the sale of generic ink cartridges. However, neither the machine nor the capsules can be considered generic until the patents expire.

Nespresso's patents will begin to expire in 2012, eventually allowing competitors to offer capsules and machines compatible with the Nespresso system. Nestlé is working on ways to prevent competitors from doing this.

An ex-manager at Nespresso has started a rival firm, Ethical Coffee (ECC), to make pods for the Nespresso machine.

Other competitors include a Swiss start-up (Nexpod.ch) which is offering Nespresso-compatible empty capsules which can be filled with the coffee (or tea) by the buyer, Caps-cup from Hong Kong that provide compatible capsules in bulk and a South African company which sells Nespresso-compatible capsules under the brand name Café-Caps.

In mid-July 2010, Sara Lee in France, which makes coffee under the "Maison de Café" brand, launched L'OR EspressO which uses a plastic capsule that fits both espresso machines sold by Sara Lee and the Nespresso system. In August 2010, it is reported that, according to Sara Lee, more than 30 million capsules of L'Or are sold since launch. Nestlé has sued Sara Lee, accusing the latter of contravening its patents. In December, Sara Lee announced that they would start selling their capsules in the US under the Douwe Egberts name.

Ecological Impact

Criticisms have been raised regarding the ecological implications of Nespresso. In terms of ecological impact, each cup of Nespresso coffee produces aluminum waste, the main material of the capsule. There is 1g of aluminum in one capsule (including the cover) compared to about 13g for a soft drink can. Recycling aluminum represents energy savings of up to 95% in comparison with the production of primary aluminum. To begin with, Nestlé did not implement recycling programs outside of a few parts of Switzerland. This led to a large per-cup waste generation, and some user groups have criticized this. Some consumers empty out used capsules and put the aluminum capsules in their recycling waste. Now, however, many more countries have recycling facilities. France and Switzerland are some of Nespresso's biggest buyers so the recycling facilities are a lot more accessible in these countries. Currently there is a UK recycling trial being done by Nespresso in London, Bristol and Bath where when the courier delivers your capsules, you have the option for them to pick up your used ones for recycling. As well as this, they can be taken to the Beauchamp Place Boutique in Knightsbridge, London to be recycled, or the Selfridges store in the Bullring, Birmingham. The recycling program has also been introduced in The Netherlands, where consumers have the option to return their used capsules to a limited selection of stores or hand them over to postal services. In the USA consumers can drop off used capsules at Nespresso boutiques for recycling.

The ecological footprint of a Nespresso coffee is more important than other steps in preparation (decoction, infusion, filtration, percolation) because of their packaging in capsules. A minority of capsules are recycled: Nestle states a current rate of 50% in Switzerland and Germany, but only 2% in France. The proportion of recycled aluminum in the capsules is not exactly known, but is estimated to be less than 30%. The company has launched a program called "écolaboration" to try to remedy the problem.

In addition to the recycling programme discussed above, Nespresso states 'ecolaboration' includes a AAA sustainability programme, focused on helping farmers who grow and supply Nespresso coffee. Nespresso claims it does this by teaching farmers best business and growing practices. The company claims participating farmers are not obliged to sell to Nespresso, although the company says many choose to as Nespresso claims to offer a fair price for the coffee and help in all aspects of the farmers' business.

Unlike the regular capsules, Nespresso Pro capsules cannot be recycled because they are made of a mixture of plastic and aluminum. Since the layers of material are sealed to each other, the Pro capsule can only be burned. This has led the World Wide Fund for Nature and other environmental agencies to state that "the most reasonable solution is still the purchase of bulk coffee".

See also

Lavazza

Flavia

Handpresso

Espresso

Keurig

Senseo

Tassimo

Caffitaly (Caffita)

Saeco

References

External links

Nespresso website

Nespresso professional website

SingleServeCoffee's review on the Nespresso system

Espresso Club's Nespresso System article

Category:Espresso machines Category:Nestlé brands Category:Single-serving coffee

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