There has been another twist in the story of legal actions over the ‘capsule’ coffee format pioneered by Nespresso. The Nestlé corporation has been wrangling in the European courts against those who make coffee capsules to be compatible with its Nespresso machine.

Nestlé’s great selling tactic is, of course, that once a consumer has bought the machine, they have to continue buying Nespresso capsules to use in it. However, ‘compatible’ capsules, designed to fit the Nespresso machine, have sprung up from various companies, with one of the rival companies led by a very senior former Nespresso executive.

In March, the European courts appeared to support these other companies, when they said that the rivals could carry on selling capsules intended to fit the Nespresso machine. However, on 27 June, Nestlé took the initiative back, winning an appeal in the Swiss Federal Supreme Court, which called for the earlier decision to be ‘reconsidered’.  Nestlé is also taking legal action against Sara Lee, which holds the Douwe Egberts brand, and other privately-owned makers of compatible capsules.

There is a double relevance for the high-street coffee trade – as more consumers have Nespresso machines in their homes, it has become more tempting for the high-street independent trade to sell the compatible capsules, which are priced far cheaper.  It is also suggested by many in the coffee trade that the capsule format will become much more appealing to high-street caterers who sell relatively small amounts of coffee in the cup.  The most famous caterer to do so up to now has been the chef Heston Blumenthal.

1 Comments

1. Heston sells coffee by the capsule! well I’m blowed!

   He knows what he’s doing so it must be good?

Mark Riley on August 2nd, 2011 at 2:30 pm