Food and beverage giants are gradually changing their packaging materials or using less of them to reduce their environmental footprint and appease consumers who take sustainable packaging into account when they shop.
Nestlé’s Nespresso coffee brand, which was created by Nestlé in 1986, is debuting home compostable paper-based capsules after three years of research and development. The new capsules will be piloted in France and Switzerland starting in spring 2023, complementing Nespresso’s aluminium capsules. There is no date scheduled for introduction in other countries, but the company plans for paper-based capsules to be available beyond Europe in the future.
Nespresso is one of Nestlé’s biggest brands globally, posting 6.4 billion Swiss francs ($6.7 billion) in sales in 2021. The brand claims to differentiate itself through its premium beverages and customer service. With consumers paying greater attention to sustainability and the environmental footprint of their favourite brands, Nespresso can further deepen its credentials in this area with the new compostable capsules.
Guillaume Le Cunff, Nespresso’s CEO, said in a statement that the brand is “more committed than ever to widening the sustainable choices we offer our consumers… without compromising on quality.”
Nespresso said its coffee masters also created four new blends, including an organic coffee, specifically for the paper-based capsules. Nespresso plans to develop more coffees for the paper pods in the future.
Paper is one option that large CPGs have considered as a potential option for improving the sustainability of their packaging, but in most cases, it has been a test or rolled out as a limited option.