Fern Castellanos New Zealand Head of Marketing, Nestlé
Nestlé and Starbucks are celebrating five years of their Global Coffee Alliance, combining the strength and affinity of Starbucks' coffee expertise with Nestlé’s manufacturing know-how and market reach.
Consumer coffee behaviours in New Zealand have significantly shifted in recent years. At-home coffee consumption increased during the pandemic and has remained high, reflecting the changing habits and preferences of consumers in the country.
In New Zealand, the Starbucks at Home range first launched in 2019, offering various formats and flavours across portioned coffee capsules, instant coffee and ready-to-drink formats.
With the rise of specialty coffee culture, Kiwis have become more discerning about their coffee choices and are increasingly seeking new formats and flavour profiles.
“In May 2023, we launched our Starbucks by Nespresso Flavoured capsules, vanilla and caramel. These new flavours are performing well, having already achieved a 3.3 percent market share,” said Nestlé New Zealand Head of Marketing, Fern Castellanos.
“We also launched Starbucks for the first time in an on-the-go format, which hit shelves late last year, and is showing strong performance with a 23.6 percent share of Real Cold Coffee RTD.”
Starbucks at Home and Freedom have partnered to inspire Kiwis’ to create their perfect at-home coffee experience, with some of the country’s most stylish personalities like Shelley Ferguson, Ron Goh, Evie Kemp and Britt Cunningham helping to showcase Kiwis’ love of coffee and design.
We’re acutely aware of how Kiwis are affected, driving our team to deliver further value for shoppers.
“We’re acutely aware of how Kiwis are affected, driving our team to deliver further value for shoppers.”
The industry continues to navigate ongoing supply chain pressures. Ensuring efficient and timely distribution of products can be complex. Increasing prices of raw materials, packaging and transporting also continue to be a challenge across the industry.
Climate change is another of society’s most significant challenges and the greatest risks to the future of business. Demand for responsibly sourced and sustainably produced coffee has grown for coffee specifically, and Starbucks by Nespresso capsules are made using 80 percent recycled aluminium.
The recycled aluminium comes from various sources, including post-consumer scrap and scrap recovered during production processes. By using 80 percent recycled aluminium, they demonstrate the recyclability of aluminium and aim to educate consumers on how to recycle their Starbucks by Nespresso capsules.
“We aim to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 and for more than 95 percent of our plastic packaging to be designed for recycling by 2025, aiming to get to 100 percent recyclable or reusable packaging. We are also reducing our use of virgin plastic by one-third by 2025.”
The company also finds it challenging to keep pace with changing consumer preferences but sees this as a significant opportunity for brands to innovate and renovate. Understanding emerging trends and consumer preferences is crucial when developing a new flavour.
In coffee, bean varieties, origin, and processing methods contribute to unique flavour characteristics. Exploring flavour pairings and combinations can create exciting and unique coffee experiences.
Nestlé and Starbucks partnership aims to elevate and grow the Starbucks brand in consumer-packaged goods and out-of-home channels.
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