Comments on: Euro Coffee Giant Entering US Market

By: Beverage Geek

Beverage Geek — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 14:30:16 +0000

Hi there. I saw your comment on the Business Week article web page and thought I’d take a look at your article. I also wrote an article on my blog in response to the Business Week article (http://beveragegeek.blogspot.com/), so I thought I’d forward the link to that article as a way of continuing the discussion. I also have a Nespresso machine and am a big fan. I believe that Nespresso does have a shot to catch on in the U.S., but with U.S. taste preferences falling much more on the side of coffee rather than espresso, it will not be easy. Would love to hear any thoughts in response to my article as well. Thanks.

By: Britta

Britta — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 06:46:19 +0000

Hi Zhu,
Hmmm… Starbucks filling the working people niche. You have a point.

By: Zhu

Zhu — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 04:20:28 +0000

Don’t think it exist in Canada either…

My friends have a machine though, but mostly because they are French and hate American coffee (you know, these huge cups of brownish hot water).

I don’t know if people would be willing to give up Starbucks (or Timmies in Canada) for home café. I think Starbucks etc. fill another niche, like working people… North Americans don’t really drink coffee at home, do they?

By: Britta

Britta — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 08:46:26 +0000

Hi Greg,

I’m a born and raised American and just left LA a year and a half ago. You are right. I had heard of Nespresso, but the brand was very weak in my mind. Nothing I would have considered purchasing.

When I came to Austria, I was shocked at how big it was over here. I thought, you have to be kidding me that this is considered a luxury brand. As I settled in Vienna and went to visit friends, they had Nespresso machines and I received a cup of coffee. In my opinion (as it’s just that and I am no expert as you appear to be from your blog) it’s good stuff.

I think I should have been more clear in my blog post. Nespresso is coming to the US with a new angle. They are going to hit the US market the way they have hit the European market. From a marketing stand point, this is going to be one interesting show.

By: greg

greg — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 16:57:43 +0000

This was kind of amusing to read. It’s pretty clear that the BusinessWeek article left you with the impression, being overseas, that Nespresso did not yet exist here in the U.S., when in fact it has been around for many years.

For example, two years ago I reviewed my experiences with the C180 Le Cube (I run a pretty extensive online database of espresso reviews):
http://theshot.coffeeratings.com/2007/05/nespresso-c180-review/
There you’ll notice store shelves stocked with various Nespresso and competitor machines.

Unfortunately, I find Nespresso one step forward in convenience but two backwards in coffee quality. Perhaps the turnover time from roast-to-use is much shorter in nearby Austria. But here in the U.S. it is quite poor, producing very sickly pale crema as in the photo in the above link.

Most American consumers don’t have the standards I have for home espresso, though. Even so, I think you need to realize that Nespresso has been aggressively pursuing the American market for many years now.