Fight for coffee capsules - Bochum competition for Nespresso

The market for coffee capsules controversial.
Bochum. The top dog Nespresso coffee capsules, which advertises with Hollywood star George Clooney, is facing stiff competition from Tchibo and Jacobs. But small providers like Zuiano with roots in Bochum cavort in the highly coveted growth market of portioned coffee.

Germany is a nation of coffee drinkers. 149 liters of drinking on average each citizen per year, more than water and beer. The trend is coffee made from fresh beans and ground into capsules. The segment is highly competitive. Nestlé Nespresso capsule top dog who advertise movie star George Clooney, the competition is getting more on the fur.

On Tuesday, the U.S. food group Mondelez (Tassimo, Jacobs) announced plans to bring in the second half of coffee capsules on the market that fit in Nespresso machines. Mondelez European coffee business is the number one and number two worldwide.



When the food company Nestlé in 1991 brought the first Nespresso machine on the market, the world was still in order for the Giants. Nestlé had the monopoly in which the coffee powder of different flavors to keep it fresh technology and aluminum capsules particularly long. But now many of the patents have expired for the capsules. Lawsuits against imitators lost Nestlé.

Every citizen drink 149 liters of coffee per year
More and more providers will benefit from the growing capsule market. According to the German Institute of coffee 10,000 tons of coffee were sold in capsules in the past year. This represents an increase of 16 percent compared to in 2011. "It seems that capsules provide a lifestyle feeling," said institute head Holger Preibisch.

Around the Coffee Capsule
Coffee capsules that fit in Nespresso machines also offer about Ethical Coffee Company, Cafe Vergnano and Douwe Egberts. Starbucks wants to get together with Kruger in the business. Consumer advocates warn, however, that these generic capsules do not always fit perfectly into the Nespresso machine.

Despite increased competition, the convenient capsules remain expensive compared to conventional filter coffee or espresso. With a cup of Nespresso costs up to 39 cents. A cup of espresso from the traditional 250-gram pack beats an average of five cents to book.

The Hamburg coffee roaster Tchibo, the machine with its own capsule system under the name "Cafissimo" previously only sold in its own outlets and depots, will bring out new machines with the Italian coffee machine manufacturer Saeco. The collaboration with Saeco opened Tchibo claims to be the opportunity to sell the "Cafissimo" machines in electronics stores and department stores.

Environmentalists criticize coffee capsules because of the high waste volume. Manufacturers argue that aluminum is 100 percent recyclable. Meanwhile, there are also compostable capsules

Worldwide sales to coffee capsules around six billion euros. Mondelez expects that by 2016 in Western Europe, more than a third of the coffee is sold in capsules. Background: There are more and more one-and two-person households for the purchase of large coffee packets not counted.

George Clooney promotes Nespresso
With competition so far can not compete with the huge advertising budget, the chic Nespresso shops and celebrities George Clooney, the start-up company looking for a niche Zuiano Coffee with roots in Bochum. "We rely on community involvement, quality and price," says Jan Wieseke, marketing professor at the Ruhr-University Bochum. He founded together with former Tchibo buyers Till and Robert Kaufmann Michael Brink Zuiano Coffee early 2012.

Ten cents per pack flow in a Brazilian orphanage. When the green coffee selection and the 24-minute roasting taste stand in the foreground. And at the end of the Zuiano capsule is even up to 30 percent cheaper than the original Nespresso, this costs about 42 cents per cup.

Bochum start-up company wants to work socially sustainable
"Our heels are very good. It's a good six-digit number every month. "Capsules are to order online and buy in a supermarket Bochum. Not be measured in euros and cents is the scientific value. For the example of the coffee capsules, Bochum marketing students can observe first hand how a new product on the market can be successfully placed. Because so far Zuiano was made known only through Internet media, such as Google, Facebook and blogs and advertised. Now the students are now building a video for the online channel YouTube.


Professor Jan Wieseke with his students Sarah Born, Michael Verbücheln, Stefanie Kochheim, Tobias Woitek and Stefanie Pichel before the main auditorium of the Ruhr-University Bochum.Foto: Mathias Schumacher / WAZ Photo Pool
"It's exciting to go right into practice," says Michael Verbücheln. Tobias Woitek has established contacts with the media, to warm them to report on the young company. Pischel and Stefanie hopes of working on concrete capsule project better job opportunities after graduation: "Today we have already demonstrated an internship to get an internship," she says.

At the end of the project, Professor Wieseke hoped for an answer to the burning question whether it can compete with the occupation of a niche own against George Clooney and the advertising budget of Nespresso "What's in it a company if it functions socially sustainable?" And

Fight for coffee capsules - Bochum competition for Nespresso |