Bangkok - April 2, 2019: NESCAFÉ, Thailand’s number one coffee brand, is expanding the black coffee mix market segment by investing 200 million baht to drive its black coffee mix range, NESCAFÉ AMERICANO, with the launch of a new no-sugar variant called NESCAFÉ AMERICANO ZERO SUGAR under the concept “0% Sugar with a Pure Intense Coffee Taste.” Responding to the trend among the new generation of coffee lovers to drink black and iced coffee, new NESCAFÉ AMERICANO ZERO SUGAR is Thailand’s first café-style zero sugar black coffee mix, offering the full taste and aroma of finely-ground roasted Arabica coffee with no sweetness and only five calories. Certified with the Healthier Choice Logo, it’s a cold soluble coffee that is easy to prepare and great when served either iced or hot. NESCAFÉ AMERICANO also introduced Tor Thanapob as its brand ambassador to reinforce the brand as the coolest black drink for the new generation.
Thailand’s coffee mix market, valued at 16.2 billion baht, grew 5.1% last year. Kafe Yen, or iced coffee, has long been Thai people’s favorite drink to cool off during the summer. More health conscious and with less of a sweet tooth, the new generation of Thai coffee drinkers have evolved and now prefer a healthier cup of iced coffee. They look for a better black coffee experience with the great taste of intense coffee, and prefer a healthier choice with a no-sugar option. Many Thai people love NESCAFÉ AMERICANO and other types of black coffee, which are now among NESCAFÉ’s best-selling SKUs.
As the coffee market leader, NESCAFÉ successfully established the two-in-one category when it launched NESCAFÉ AMERICANO in March last year. NESCAFÉ AMERICANO was the world’s first café-style black coffee mix blended from finely-ground roasted Arabica beans and is easily soluble in cold water, with only 35 kCal and certified with the Healthier Choice Logo. It has been tremendously successful, receiving great feedback from the new generation of coffee drinkers. Some 71% of NESCAFÉ AMERICANO consumers are a young group, ages 20 to 39 years old. With NESCAFÉ AMERICANO, NESCAFÉ was able to successfully drive in-home iced coffee consumption, with the majority of drinkers consuming the product cold or iced, and 72% making a repeat purchase.
The Americano and black coffee trend is also showing strong growth in other models. At NESCAFÉ HUB@Chidlom, Iced Americano is the second best-selling beverage, while Nitro Americano is in fourth place. For NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto, black coffee is the number one best-selling beverage with growth of over 31%, with Short and Long Black the top-ranking beverage.
Mr. Victor Seah, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Nestlé Indochina, said, “Following the great response to NESCAFÉ AMERICANO, I am pleased that we are celebrating the launch of new NESCAFÉ AMERICANO ZERO SUGAR. It’s the coolest black drink with no sugar that meets Thai coffee lovers’ evolving preference for healthier black coffee.”
“New NESCAFÉ AMERICANO ZERO SUGAR is Thailand’s first café-style zero sugar black coffee mix to offer Thai consumers a healthier choice for an iced and black coffee experience. This product innovation is our latest SKU to be certified with the Healthier Choice Logo. It strengthens Nestlé’s position as the leading food and beverage company, with 48 SKUs certified with the Healthier Choice Logo, the highest number for any company in our category. It’s part of our continuing efforts to develop healthier and tastier choices to fulfill the Nestlé purpose of ‘Enhancing quality of life and contributing to a healthier future.’ I am sure that new NESCAFÉ AMERICANO ZERO SUGAR will be the coolest black drink with no sugar for the coolest coffee drinkers throughout Thailand,” added Mr. Seah.
Ms. Naritta Vipulyasekha, Business Manager – NESCAFÉ Coffee Mixes; Nestlé (Thai) Ltd., said, “Innovative new NESCAFÉ AMERICANO ZERO SUGAR is the result of our understanding the changing needs of the new generation of coffee drinkers who want a healthier choice for black and iced coffee. Based on our social listening, we discovered that there is a consumer demand for Americano coffee that is not sweet and does not contain any sugar. This is why we are introducing the new zero sugar variant. According to our consumer research, people who try it like new NESCAFÉ AMERICANO ZERO SUGAR, and are highly interested in purchasing the product.”
An integrated communications campaign will support the NESCAFÉ AMERICANO range and the launch of new NESCAFÉ AMERICANO ZERO SUGAR with an allocated investment of 200 million baht. Khun Thanapob “Tor” Leeratanakajorn, who represents the new generation of coffee drinkers who seek coolness while preferring healthy options, is the new NESCAFÉ AMERICANO brand ambassador. He will convey the product concept of NESCAFÉ AMERICANO, which includes an intense full-flavored taste, irresistible aroma from Arabica, and being cold soluble through a new TV commercial entitled “Cool You Down,” which will air from today onward on leading TV stations and digital platforms. NESCAFÉ also created the “Iced Zero Bar” at Eden in Central World to offer consumers a real new NESCAFÉ AMERICANO ZERO SUGAR experience, which Khun Tor invites all coffee lovers to enjoy. A digital program will build awareness about the launch, and a sampling program will offer over a million cups of new NESCAFÉ AMERICANO ZERO SUGAR to consumers nationwide. There will also be out-of-home media plus point-of-sales materials and a special promotion during the launch period.
“We are confident that new NESCAFÉ AMERICANO ZERO SUGAR will be this summer’s coolest new black drink with no sugar for the coolest coffee drinkers in Thailand, while strengthening NESCAFÉ’s position as the number one coffee brand in Thailand,” concluded Ms. Naritta.
New NESCAFÉ AMERICANO ZERO SUGAR, “0% Sugar with a Pure Intense Coffee Taste,” is now available in coffee mix format including a nine-stick pack at 39 baht and a 27-stick pack at 99 baht at leading convenience stores and supermarkets nationwide.