Nestle pours in Bt1.4 bn for new coffee mix brand

The company has launched its latest coffee-mix brand, Nescafe Blend & Brew, to replace its 15-year old Nescafe 3-in-1 instant coffee mix, which will be withdrawn from the marketplace.
The coffee-mix market, worth about Bt15 billion, is a major part of the Thai instant-coffee market, but it posted relatively flat growth last year, affected by the overall economic slowdown and the lack of relevant innovations to stimulate the market’s growth.
Meanwhile, Thailand’s market for ready-to-drink coffee grew by about 10 per cent last year as Thai consumers preferred drinking coffee out of home and on the go.
Vladislav Andreev, executive manager for coffee and creamer business, said that about Bt800 million of the investment had been allocated to the upgrade of manufacturing technology and equipment at the company’s instant-coffee facilities in Chachoengsao and Bangpoo in Samut Prakan. Meanwhile, another Bt600 million would be invested in 360-degree marketing activities, including the giving away of 4 million samples, to be held throughout the year.
“The launch of Nescafe Blend & Brew, which is our latest coffee-mix innovation, started from the consumer insight, who want to enjoy a greater ground-roasted-coffee experience but don’t want to make life more complicated,” Andreev said.
He said Nescafe wanted to grow with the local coffee market and accelerate the market’s growth.
“Our local facilities will be also responsible for the export of Nescafe Blend & Brew but limited [to] the region,” he said.
 Audrey Liow, chairwoman and chief executive officer of Nestle Indochina, said Thailand was a top-five market for Nescafe in the world, alongside other important markets such as Japan and Britain.
“Thailand is a great coffee market. We have strong market position in Thailand, so we should bring the best coffee to Thailand first to strengthen our base of loyal customers here,” she said.
 Nescafe currently has 60 per cent of Thailand’s Bt15-billion coffee-mix market.
“With the new Nescafe Blend & Brew, we want to grow consumption of instant coffee, which stands currently at about 200 cups per consumer per year. The market is now changing and it is part of our strategy to continuously develop the market,” Liow said.