“Macau has a long-standing tradition of coffee appreciation thanks to its Portuguese roots. More and more consumers incorporate coffee as part of their lifestyle, and are educating themselves about coffee,” says Roger Staeheli, Country Manager of Nespresso Hong Kong and Macau.
“In light of the growing community of gourmet coffee lovers and coffee connoisseurs in Macau, Nespresso realized a great expansion opportunity within the region. Nespresso aimed to make the home coffee experience more accessible for Macau’s coffee drinkers, thus the introduction of the brand into Macau.”
Nespresso arrived in the territory for business-to-business in 2006, and on the consumer side in 2008. Since then the brand has been building momentum in Macau, introducing local coffee drinkers to gourmet coffee and Nespresso’s range of 23 permanent Grand Crus as well as Limited Edition coffees.
“Like all markets in Asia, Macau also has a preference for milk-based coffee and is considered a white coffee market,” Staeheli explains. “We are also seeing a trend towards gourmet coffee, with consumers becoming more and more interested in Nespresso’s Grands Crus and their coffee bean origins and aromatic profiles.”
Ultimately, when it comes to deciding which flavour is best, Macau likes it strong!
“We find that the Intenso range (Grands Crus with an intensity of 8 or above on a scale from 1-10) is most popular in Asia.”
“The Nespresso Grands Crus Volluto, Arpeggio and Vivalto (one Intenso, Espresso and Lungo) are also some of the most well-received across all markets, and due to their popularity, we have recently taken these three Grands Crus to create decaffeinated mirror images – their “alter egos” to add to the permanent range.”
Staeheli explains that the Nespresso premium coffee blends are produced from a selection of the finest coffee grown in the world. Only an estimated 1-2 percent of the coffee grown globally meets Nespresso’s specific taste, aroma profiles and stringent quality controls.
“From the bean to the cup, this is how Nespresso controls each stage of the coffee production ensuring that each cup of coffee consistently meets our high standards.”
The Country Manager credits the company’s Trilogy strategy for it’s ongoing success in the region: perfectly portioned Grand Crus coffee, smart and stylish machines, and personalised services.
These services include a 24 hour hotline, so that Club Members can order their capsules at any time, delivered within 24 hours. And for the environmentally conscious coffee lover, a capsule recycling service.
“Coffee capsules are made from aluminium which is not only the best material for protecting the quality and freshness of the coffee and interacting with the machine, but it also has the unique advantage of being infinitely recyclable.”
“Club Members can drop off used capsules at the recycling points at the Nespresso boutique, or choose for Nespresso delivery staff to collect the used capsules from their home or office.”
“Nespresso works with a recycling partner to completely separate the coffee residue from the aluminum capsule packaging. The excess coffee residue is used as fertiliser and the aluminum is recycled and reused to produce various products, including new Nespresso capsules.”
