Brand History
The story behind NESCAFÉ started in the 1930s, Switzerland. Upon the request of the Brazilian government for coffee cubes, NESTLÉ started looking into the possibilities of creating soluble coffee that still tastes as good as any other. The solution was found a few years later with the help of Max Morgenthaler and his team, introducing soluble coffee to the world on 1 April 1938. To date, it is a global household favorite, making it to the top spot in Interbrand’s ranking of Best Swiss Brands in 2012.
Mission
NESCAFÉ is dedicated to making great tasting coffees for you to enjoy every day.
Brand Mantra
Global Strategy
NESCAFÉ acts on a global scale whilst making themselves relevant to the many markets they reside in. This is achieved by being consistent in the symbols they use (i.e. brand name, with the exception of the US market between 1960 to 2003, the red NESCAFÉ mug with hot steam rising in most of their advertising) whilst altering their product offering and tone of advertising to suit the tastes of the consumers within each country (i.e. Singapore’s Ipoh White Coffee, Vietnam’s CAFÉ VIÉT).
Also, being a part of NESTLÉ, NESCAFÉ has taken measures to return to society with their CSR initiative ‘The NESCAFÉ Plan”. Within lays their blueprint to cut down their environmental footprint by reducing wastage and pollution, help farmers and their business stay sustainable by educating and providing farmers tools and knowledge to improve crop yield whilst ensuring their consumers quality products wherever they are.
How NESCAFÉ is Made
Target Market
NESCAFÉ ‘sprimary target market are coffee drinkers, specifically those whom are looking for a quick solution to quality coffee. People that want to enjoy their coffee without any hassle/ready in a jiffy, all in the comfort of their own home. NESCAFÉoffers coffee that can be enjoyed everywhere at your convenience.
Products
Other than the traditional flavors offered (regular, rich, mild and intense) and Latté and Mocha in canned form, NESCAFÉalso has flavors that target the local market here in Singapore. One of the newest kids to join the product line is the Ipoh White Coffee series.
NESCAFÉ’s products
Price
A typical packet of instant coffee ( contains about 30-35 sachets) costs approximately $6, and the average serving cost is $0.20. For the bottled range, it costs approximately $5 for 100 servings, resulting in an average serving cost of $0.50. A can of NESCAFÉ costs approximately $1.
Place
Typically, NESCAFÉ ‘sproducts can be found almost everywhere from convenience stores (Cheers, 7-11) to supermarkets (Sheng Shiong, Giant, NTUC Fairprice) situated within the heartlands. Given the nature of the product, NESCAFÉis rarely offered in most F&B outlets (restaurants, cafés, etc).
Instant coffee in NTUC Fairprice
Promotions
NESCAFÉmainly focuses on 3 social media tools to reach out to their target market – Facebook, Twitter and Youtube.
As of 3rd September 2012, NESCAFÉhas accumulated 28,845 likes with around 1,221 people talking about it (at the time of this post). To engage fans and followers, NESCAFÉ’s content on Facebook varies from riddles to fun facts/quotes and coffee consumption in general.
As for NESCAFÉ’stwitter account, they have 5,464 followers (at the time of this post) on NESCAFÉ ‘smain Twitter feed but only 83 in the Singapore account. NESCAFÉ Singapore’s twitter account posts similar content to that which is posted on their Facebook page.
Youtube
NESCAFÉhas a Youtube channel called NescafeSingapore. It has only one video on the Ipoh White Coffee which was used for a competition to involve consumers in coming up with tagline to the commercial (Traditionally yours).
The use of such social media tools is not only to push out content to the consumers but also to get them involved in creating and understanding the brand. By asking consumers for their input, NESCAFÉ creates dialogue between the brand and consumers which really connects people to the brand.
Print Ad and Road shows
NESCAFÉ is actively involved in campaigns that communicates their latest products to the public. More often that not, roadshows are set up and samples are given out for consumers to try. Accompanying the road shows are various collaterals that are also replicated across newspapers/magazines and bus stops.
Collage of NESCAFÉ’s advertisem*nts
TV Commercials
NESCAFÉ also leverages on television commercials to reach out to their consumers. A typical commercial will feature a product packaging, the process of preparing the drink and finally a consumer sitting down to enjoy his/her cup of coffee. The above mentioned scenes are then accompanied with a voice over that emphasizes on the taste, quality and aroma of the coffee.
Brand Presence
In addition to social media engagement, NESCAFÉhas been actively involving the community in events to establish our brand presence.
NESCAFÉPassion Movie Night was held earlier this year in May, where family and friends are able to enjoy a night under the stars with the screening of Kungfu Panda 2. To complete the entire experience, delicious NESCAFÉcoffee was offered to the attendees.
For this year’s World Happy Day, NESCAFÉspread happiness all over Orchard Road. Not only did NESCAFÉparty the day away in Somerset 313, the entire Orchard Road was filled with red balloons, and that included photo walls, staff in red tees as well as red coffee mugs.
NESCAFÉhanded out free flow coffee in exchange for smiles, and it was all for a good cause. For every photo taken at the photo wall, $0.50 was donated to Operation Smile Singapore. The donations benefited a very special group of people – children in developing countries that are born with cleft lips or any facial deformities could now regain their smile through constructive surgery.
In addition, NESCAFÉ was one of the official food and beverage sponsor in Singapore Night Festival 2012. Over the span of two weekends, NESCAFÉ gave out free cups of delicious NESCAFÉ White Coffee to the an estimated crowd of at least 110,000 visitors(estimated based on Voyage Night Festival 2011’s turnout).
NESCAFÉ’s booth at Night Festival 2012
Salience
The breadth of brand awareness is weak as consumers generally do not consider NESCAFÉwhen choosing beverages, or even coffee. Instead, the brand has a more limited perceived consumption situation among Singaporean consumers, who tend to consider NESCAFÉonly in situations where they need an instant caffeine fix. The depth of brand awareness is strong as the brand exhibits high top-of-mind recall among consumers when choosing instant coffee, its main product category. NESCAFÉ’scategory membership also resonates strongly and clearly among consumers, who specifically identify the brand as an instant coffee brand.
Performance
NESCAFÉ is dedicated to producing quality coffee that can be enjoyed anytime, by anyone. Arabica and Robusta coffee beans sourced from all over the world are used to produce coffee that is consistently rich and full flavored. The brand is also committed to its mission of making good coffee available to everyone. NESCAFÉ products can be found almost anywhere in Singapore, at supermarkets, convenience stores, school canteens, and vending machines. NESCAFÉ’s diversity of coffee products also ensures that there is something for everyone. With its coffee products priced at approximately $0.20 to $1.00 per serving, NESCAFÉ makes quality coffee affordable for everyone.
Imagery
NESCAFÉ has a strong brand history, having been established in Singapore for more than 70 years. The association NESCAFÉ shares with its parent company NESTLÉ and its diversity of coffee products of different flavors also strengthens its image as a truly international brand. The consistent use of the brand logo and its signature red mug since its introduction creates a sense of timelessness. NESCAFÉ pitches itself as a brand for the Everyman who enjoys connecting with people. The brand exudes a sincere, down-to-earth, and comforting “coffee-next-door” image, as a companion for all your moments.
Brand shares in terms of retail volume
Based on retail volume (in tonnes) we have identified two main competitors – Owl and Super, who are both under Super Coffeemix Mfg Pte Ltd. All three brands are in the instant coffee category.
Brand Shares in terms of Retail Value
*Boncafe’s products are higher priced than that of NESCAFÉ, Super and Owl, hence in terms of retail value, it is ranked higher.
**Even though Owl sells more of their products, their products are relatively cheaper as compared to both NESCAFÉand Super, hence they are ranked 4th in terms of retail value.
According to NESTLÉSA’s spokesman Ravi Pillay, recent trends indicated that consumers prefer full-flavored and rich coffee, which NESCAFÉhas latched on by describing the product as rich and full-flavored instead of smooth and rich (Daily News,Yes it does taste different).
As such, in Singapore, NESCAFÉhas successfully differentiated itself from Super, who retained its present product description, therefore targeting the mature segment that prefers the traditional and classic taste of coffee. Owl on the other hand, has a different strategy by focusing on the delivery of Straits Asian coffee and taking it upon themselves to protect the local coffee culture.
Competitors’ Products
Owl’s products
Super’s products
Points of Parity and Differences
In general, the coffee culture in Singapore is changing especially within the younger Singaporeans, who prefer to have their coffee from fresh ground coffee, pods or coffee chains. Also, given that the general perception of instant coffee is that it is mainly consumed by the mature population of Singapore, the overarching question is how then do we ensure that NESCAFÉis able to target the younger Singaporeans, thereby increasing or maintaining the market share.
One way of doing this, would be to open upNESCAFÉcafés like those in Gurgaon, India and Romania and thereby broadening the brand awareness to more than just instant coffee, thus appealing to younger consumers who prefer to have their coffee at coffee chains with friends.
“As global trends in the world of coffee keep on evolving, we are always paying close attention. As consumers continue to demand more and more complex coffee beverages, NESCAFÉ Milano provides a complete specialty beverages solution, the response to changing expectations.”
NESCAFÉ café Milano in Romania
Furthermore, there is a general shift towards health-consciousness, and NESCAFÉhas done well in that aspect by having some of their products certified as the healthier option by the Health Promotion Board of Singapore. It would be interesting though, to see what this trend would mean for instant coffee brands in Singapore, though Euromonitor International predicts that 2-in-1 instant coffee might potentially replace 3-in-1 instant coffee as consumers start to prefer coffee without sugar.
