Marketing
In the United States, Nestlé used the Nescafé name on its products until the late 1960s. Later, Nestlé introduced a new brand in Canada and the US called Taster's Choice, which supplanted Nescafé for many years. The company continues to sell Taster's Choice as a separate product, branded as superior to Nescafé and higher priced.
In the United Kingdom, a television advertisement campaign, the Gold Blend couple starring Anthony Head and Sharon Maughan ran in 12 instalments between 1987 and 1993.[6] The first 11 episodes were released as a promotional compilation video called Love Over Gold in 1993. A novelisation of the same name written by Susan Moody (under the pseudonym Susannah James) was released in the same year.[7] The legendary boxer Chris Eubank and soccer star Ian Wright featured separately in television ads in the late 1990s and 2000s.
Before the Gold Blend couple made their debut, a series of British adverts for Nescafé starred Gareth Hunt, shown shaking his closed hand and opening it to reveal coffee beans, then smelling the aroma.[8] Greene, who starred in some 26 adverts, commented that the shaking of the beans was crucial to the campaign's success, due to their sexual connotations.[9] By 1986, adverts in this campaign also starred Sarah Greene and Mike Smith.[9] In the 1986 Smash Hits readers poll, Nescafé were simultaneously ranked fifth in the "Best TV Ad" category and first in the "Worst TV Ad" category.[9]
In 2003, the company reintroduced the Nescafé brand in Canada and the US, and the product is now known as Nescafé Taster's Choice. It is sold in North American supermarkets in both glass and plastic packaging.
While the Nescafé brand was created for soluble coffee, it has subsequently been used as an umbrella brand on a number of instant coffee products, including, in the UK, Gold Blend and Blend 37 freeze-dried coffees.
In 2006, Nescafé launched the new coffee machine system "Dolce Gusto" ("sweet taste" in Italian). The system allows consumers to make various styles of coffees themselves (cappuccino, latte macchiato, espresso, lungo, etc.). Additionally, hot chocolate and cold drinks can be prepared with the machine. The machines are now sold in more than 60 countries. Unlike other Nescafé products, most Dolce Gusto beverages use roasted and ground coffee beans, instead of instant coffee.
In the UK in August 2009, Nescafé unveiled a £43 million ad campaign for Nescafé, focusing on the purity of its coffee and featuring the strapline "Coffee at its brightest".[10]
Nescafé was ranked 153rd among India's most trusted brands according to the Brand Trust Report 2012, a study conducted by Trust Research Advisory. In the Brand Trust Report 2013, Nescafé was ranked 230th among India's most trusted brands and subsequently, according to the Brand Trust Report 2014, Nescafé was ranked 209th among India's most trusted brands.[11] Nestle India has branded instant coffee as Nescafe Classic and the 70:30 mix of instant coffee and chicory as Sunrise.[12] In Australia and New Zealand, the original instant coffee is branded "Blend 43", originally to differentiate product made locally from imported beans, from the imported version.[13][14]
In Pakistan, Nescafe launched an annual music show based on the same theme as of Coke Studio, named Nescafé Basement.
