Global at-home coffee boom shows no sign of slowing, with Nestlé’s retail coffee products contributing to 7.7% organic sales growth in the first quarter
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A Nespresso store in Toronto, Canada | Photo credit: Nespresso
Nestlé has reported 7.7% organic sales growth in its first quarter results for 2021, with at-home coffee products ‘the largest contributor to growth’. Total reported sales increased 1.3% to CHF 21.1bn ($23bn) compared to the same period in 2020.
The Swiss food and beverage giant reported strong demand for its Nespresso, Nescafé and Starbucks products globally. In particular, Nespresso continued to perform robustly, achieving global sales growth of 15.6% to CHF 1.6bn ($1.8bn).
In March 2021, Nespresso announced it would invest CHF 117m ($128m) to expand its Avenches production and distribution centre in Switzerland to meet growing consumer demand worldwide. The expansion came after a
$170.5m investment to add 10 new production lines to its Romont Nespresso coffee pod production facility in Switzerland in July 2020.
In March 2021, Nestlé also signalled confidence in its Nespresso
retail business, unveiling a new flagship store concept in Vienna, Austria. The new format seeks to unify customer experience across digital channels, call centres and in-person, to enable greater customisation and service.
Commenting on the Q1 results, Nestlé CEO Mark Schneider said: "We are pleased with Nestlé’s strong organic sales growth in the first quarter, building on broad-based contributions from most geographies and product categories. Our growth was fuelled by disciplined execution, enhanced digital capabilities and rapid innovation, resulting in further market share gains. Retail sales saw solid growth and out-of-home channels saw signs of improvement. We confirm our guidance for the year and our mid-term outlook for sustained mid single-digit organic growth."