Nestlé’s coffee businesses and products helped contribute to strong nine-month sales growth of 7.3 per cent, the company reported on 20 October, while lifting its annual sales forecast. Sales of powdered and liquid beverages accounted for US$14.6 billion of the company’s $68.1 billion in sales. The total figure represents a slight over-performance against their anticipated 5 to 6 per cent long-term organic growth range. “In a tough economic environment, we continue to build our capabilities and positions for the future, while maintaining strong growth across regions and categories,” Nestlé CEO Paul Bulcke says in a statement. “A high rate of innovation also requires significant consumer-facing marketing support.” Of the 7.3 per cent figure for organic growth, 4.1 per cent was accredited for real internal growth, while pricing made up the remaining 3.2 per cent. Divided by geographical market segment, organic growth was the strongest in developing nations, achieving a rise of around 13.1 per cent, while developed markets grew by around 4 per cent. The company’s coffee products showed strengths across all regional segments. In North America, Coffee-mate was reported to have enjoyed strong growth thanks to new varieties of Café Collections and a successful launch of Coffee-mate Natural Bliss. Nescafé was also reported to have performed well in this developed market. In Latin America, the company noted that it has pushed distribution deeper into the market across the continent, highlighting Nescafé Molienda, a new soluble coffee product with micro-granules, in Mexico. In Europe’s “challenging environment”, the company noted that it performed better than the market. Nestlé attributed the growth to a continued roll-out of innovations, including Nescafé Dolce Gusto single-serve coffee market. Across the European Zone, soluble coffee was among the products cited to have delivered good levels of growth thanks to innovation. Nescafé was named among the strongest performing brands, pursuing a clear segmentation strategy with products like Nescafé Green Blend and Nescafé 3-in-1. The strength of developing markets delivered the strongest growth for the company, with soluble coffee proving strong in Africa and Japan. Nescafé coffee systems, including the Dolce Gusto and Barista also continued to perform well there. The company’s beverage system, largely comprised of its coffee businesses and products, was largely attributed as the main driver helping Nestlé Professional achieve double-digit growth, with the Nescafé Milano system introduced to North America, France, Malaysia and Germany.
Nespresso continued its strong growth in Europe, while the rollout to the rest of the world continued. The company notes that four new machines, The Pixie, Lattissima+, Aguila and Zenius have been launched this year. Nestlé further noted they were on track to opening more than 250 boutiques this year to meet growing consumer demand.
