MILAN – Nestle unveiled its first drip coffee product in China last month. Drip coffees, or small cones or cubes containing ground, allow fresh brews to drip through them when immersed in hot water in a mug. Nescafe developed this product exclusively for China taking into consideration the local taste preferences and preparation habits.
Nescafe Gold Barista comes in Medium Roast and Dark Roast. Medium Roast uses coffee beans from Ethiopia, Colombia and Brazil with hints of tangerine, nuts and white chocolate.
Dark Roast contains a blend of coffee beans from Yunnan, Brazil and Colombia with hints of caramel, chocolate and roasted hazelnut.
The new drip products are launched in response to the fast-growing market trend in China.
Ground coffee has the potential to become a further growth driver, just as instant coffee varieties became popular a few decades back, according to Nestle.
Luckin Coffee has also rolled out its own drip coffee in China at the end of December 2019.
Adrian Ho, senior vice-president, coffee business unit, Nestle China Ltd, said China has big potential for coffee consumption. To exploit opportunities brought by the rapid development of the Chinese market, brands must keep changing and innovating, he said.
According to China Daily, coffee is the mainstay of Nestle’s beverage business that boasts three brands: Nescafe, Nespresso and Starbucks.
While full-year coffee business figures for 2019 are yet to be finalized, Nestle China said it grew in double digits in 2018 on the back of innovation.
It remains to be seen how the market will be affectd by the Coronavirus epidemic.
