Now this is interesting. BusinessWeek just reported that Swiss coffee giant Nespresso is making a play for the US market. The BusinessWeek article states valid reasons for this move. You can see the article here BusinessWeek Nespresso Article
Nespresso is HUGE here in Austria. The stores are glitz and glamour. They have tasting bars so you can decide which of the 10 flavors you want to buy. The extremely expensive machines are on display like artwork. The catalogs are slick and a marketer’s dream. George Clooney is the spokesperson for Nespresso and you see the commercials all the time on TV. My husband’s 75 year old grandmother has even stated, ‘That coffee guy, he sure is good looking.’
Nespresso is a machine over here. No pun intended.
It makes sense in Austria where coffee is such a big part of the culture. Check out my blog post concerning how big coffee really is Coffee Post
I have to confess. I have a Nespresso coffee machine at home. I buy the capsules. I drink the coffee. It’s good coffee. I mean really good. So good that I won’t drink the American coffee and I sure in hell won’t drink the Starbucks coffee. It tastes burnt to me. My little Nespresso machine chosen in a color to match my kitchen produces smooth, rich, flavorful coffee. Not watery, not burnt tasting. I look forward to my cup every morning. And hey, I don’t have to stand in line for it either!
I’ve invited a lot of people over to my place on a Sunday afternoon to have a cup of coffee and chat. Everyone says the coffee is good. Aunts, cousins, my father, uncle, and friends. That’s a lot of happy, satisfied, impressed people. My cousin actually called me two days ago out of the blue to ask me a few questions. He asked if I was really happy with it and I said yes. He then said that he was going to buy one for his office. And he didn’t mind that he was going to have to order the capsules online.
Keeping the Nespresso machine clean is easy. I wipe it down once in awhile. I put the plastic parts in the dishwasher. Due to the capsules, there is no fumbling with the coffee grinds which usually go everywhere. I just drop the capsule of my choice into the machine, and done. Coffee.
There is one draw back that I really don’t like. The machine only makes one cup of coffee at a time. When I have guests, I make one cup, then run to my first guest and give it to that person, then run back to deliver the second when it is done. I don’t want anyone to drink cold coffee. Also, the coffee could be a little bit hotter. What I do to make up for that though is heat up the milk in the microwave. For those that don’t take milk, I put their cup in the microwave to heat up the porcelain.
I think Nespresso has a shot in the United States. People don’t want to spend the money that they have been at Starbucks anymore. People are pulling back from gathering at restaurants to socialize. What’s left is inviting people to your home to entertain. Entertaining goes well when you have good coffee to serve.
Also Nespresso is a marketing machine. They know how to push their product. As a marketing manager myself, I wouldn’t mind working for Nespresso. It would be fun.
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