Swiss group Migros is launching a new type of coffee capsule, in the form of fully biodegradable granules, in a bid to gain share in a market largely dominated by its compatriot Nestlé, maker of the famous Nespresso capsule brand.
First to mass distribute the new product in Switzerland, the Migros group hopes to entice consumers by responding to their new environmental expectations; consumers are increasingly concerned about enjoying coffee without generating waste.
The company’s new coffee capsules are in the form of compressed coffee spheres covered with a thin film based on algae, which makes it possible to avoid aluminum or plastic packaging.
The company’s coffee machines, unlike those sold by other manufacturers, are produced in part with recyclable materials, revealed the Swiss group.
Many consumers are now worried about the cost of their energy bills, and the new machines automatically go into sleep mode if they are idle for more than a minute, the Swiss group emphasized at a press conference.
The fully biodegradable capsules will initially be marketed in Switzerland and France from Tuesday, but interest in other countries “is already huge,” Fabrice Zumbrunnen, the chairman of Migros, told a press conference in Zurich.
About 63 billion coffee pods are sold annually worldwide, and generate 100,000 tonnes of waste, according to figures provided by Migros, which aims to expand its market share in coffee, he said.
Nestlé and its Dutch competitor JDE Peet’s (Jacobs, L’Or, Tassimo, Senseo) account for about half of the coffee market in Western Europe, according to market research firm Euromonitor.
In comparison to Migros it is very small. According to Euromonitor, the market share of the Café Royal brand, distributed by its subsidiary Delica, was just 0.3% of the Western European market in 2021.
Nespresso has a 12.1% market share in the region. Nestlé also controls the brands Nescafé (7.7% market share) and Nescafé Dolce Gusto (5%). To this we must add the Starbucks coffee capsules (1.1% of the market), as Nestlé has a partnership with the American company since 2018.
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