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NESTLE

Switzerland’s Nespresso to bring Cuban coffee to US

Nestle-owned Nespresso announced Monday it will reintroduce Cuban coffee to the US for the first time in more than 50 years following the easing of United States sanctions on Cuba.

Published: 21 June 2016 08:46 CEST
Switzerland's Nespresso to bring Cuban coffee to US
A plantation on the Sierra Maestra Mountains, in eastern Cuban province of Santiago de Cuba. Photo: AFP

The Swiss food giant's company plans to sell Cuban coffee under its individual-capsule Nespresso brand, initially as a limited edition, starting in several months.

“Nespresso is thrilled to be the first to bring this rare coffee to the US, allowing consumers to rediscover this distinct coffee profile,” said Guillaume Le Cunff, president of Nespresso USA, in a statement.

“Ultimately, we want consumers in the US to experience this incredible coffee and to enjoy it now and for years to come.”

A spokesman for Nespresso said the coffee has “wood notes” and a “light caramel finish.”

In April, the US Department of State in April updated its list of goods that could be imported into the US from Cuba to include coffee.

Nespresso said it planned to work with the nonprofit development organization TechnoServe to establish financing and technical assistance to improve sustainable practices among Cuban coffee farmers.

The announcement comes as more US businesses, including film producers, hotel chains and cruise companies, take steps to reenter Cuba following a series of moves by the Obama administration to ease the US trade embargo.

The United States and Cuba restored diplomatic relations in July 2015.

On June 10, the US Department of Transportation granted licenses to six US airlines to fly up to 90 round-trip flights per day to cities in Cuba, excluding the capital Havana.

NESTLE

‘Unlimited resources’: Switzerland’s Nestle goes vegan

Swiss food giant Nestle, which has made billions with dairy products, said Monday it will host start-ups that want to develop vegetarian alternatives.

Published: 29 September 2020 15:33 CEST
'Unlimited resources': Switzerland's Nestle goes vegan
Photo: SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP

Nestle could thus find itself at the forefront of a sector that has strong growth potential, an analyst commented.

It plans to open its research and development (R&D) centre in Konolfingen, Switzerland to “start-ups, students and scientists” a statement said.

In addition to testing sustainable dairy products, the group plans to encourage work on plant-based dairy alternatives, it added.

Chief executive Mark Schneider was quoted as saying that “innovation in milk products and plant-based dairy alternatives is core to Nestle's portfolio strategy.”

The group unveiled a vegetable-based milk that had already been developed with the process, and technical director Stefan Palzer told AFP it planned to focus on 100-200 such projects a year.

Jon Cox, an analyst at Kepler Cheuvreux, noted that while Nestle had missed some consumer trends in the past, it has now “taken something of a lead in the plant-based alternative market for food”.

And “given its pretty much unlimited resources, Nestle is going to come out one of the winners in the space,” Cox forecast in an e-mail.

Nestle said that “internal, external and mixed teams” would work at the R&D centre over six-month periods.

Nestle would provide “expertise and key equipment such as small to medium-scale production equipment to facilitate the rapid upscaling of products for a test launch in a retail environment,” it added.

The Swiss food giant has long been known for its dairy products, but faced a boycott in the 1970s for allegedly discouraging mothers in developing countries from breastfeeding even though it was cheaper and more nutritious than powdered formula.

On Monday, the group's statement also underscored that the research initiative was part of its commitment to help fight global warming.

“As a company, we have set ambitious climate goals. This is part of our promise to develop products that are good for you and good for the planet,” it said.

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