The Evolution Of Canadian Coffee Culture – CoffeeTalk

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Coffee is a culturally diverse beverage, and Canada is home to many cultures. Some have deeply rooted java traditions and tastes, while others are just warming to the versatile brew. Nespresso Canada president Carlos Oyanguren has a better understanding of how coffee is consumed differently around the world and how these preferences, rituals, and flavors dovetail into Canada’s cultural mosaic.

Oyanguren, an industrial engineering major from Mexico City, worked on Nestle’s coffee portfolio nearly 20 years ago. He served as a marketing adviser for Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East before returning to Switzerland as Nespresso’s global communications manager in 2016. In 2017, he returned to Mexico to serve as the market director of Nespresso Mexico. Six years later, he was asked to oversee a less populous country with a much larger coffee market, the brand’s third largest after the U.S. and France, and moved to Canada in September 2023.

The pod-based, at-home brewing system was patented by Nestle employee and Swiss engineer Eric Favre in 1976, with the first machines hitting the market a decade later. Since entering Canada in 2006, Nespresso has grown to include 1,000 employees, 36 boutique locations, a robust e-commerce offering, and a rapidly maturing business-to-business operation.

Oyanguren has always been an amateur coffee drinker, starting with milk and sugar before moving on to more black, shorter coffee. He has learned about how coffee is consumed around the world through his travels from Mexico to Switzerland, China, back to Switzerland, back to Mexico, and eventually Canada, seeing the category from many angles.

In markets like China or Africa, coffee consumption is still establishing itself, with people learning with friends, universities, and coffee shops. This is a very different environment for people who don’t have a generation of parents showing their kids how to drink coffee.

Coffee is a massively popular beverage in Canada, with high consumption per capita and a significant part of daily routines. Canada is a key part of Nespresso’s operations, one of the most important in the world. The country’s diversity, including the type of immigration in Quebec, influences how coffee is marketed, trained, and personalized.

Nespresso has 36 boutiques in Canada, but its business is primarily e-commerce driven. Customers start at the boutique to discover unique flavors and varieties, and as they become regular users, they move to e-commerce for easy replenishment. Customers who shop across different channels tend to be more loyal and longer-term customers.

Nespresso also has a growing presence in institutional channels like restaurants, hotels, and offices. This segment is the fastest growing segment in Canada and requires specific products tailored for that environment. They have large commercial machines with a fridge, touch screen display, multiple milk frothers, and can store hundreds of used capsules.

Nespresso plans to expand their retail and online presence this year, with plans to test locations through small format pop-ups and potentially move to a more permanent, bigger boutique. E-commerce data will help the brand identify cities or markets to target.

Nespresso is also pushing itself to deliver faster and more sustainably, with shorter delivery times and lower carbon footprint deliveries. Sustainability is important for the brand, as it is a B Corp Certified company that depends on the quality of its coffee. They prioritize recycling, using aluminum for capsules to keep out oxygen and use coffee grounds for compost or biomethane. Most capsules are made of 80% recycled aluminum, and Nespresso makes it easy for consumers to recycle them.

Nespresso is also extending this circular economy to their machines by launching a refurbishing program called RELOVE, which allows broken machines to be fixed and sold at specific boutiques and online at a 20% discount.

Canadian tastes are evolving, with the launch of maple pecan flavoured coffee last year and an increasing trend in vanilla. Decaf flavoured coffees will be delivered for the first time in a couple of months, and cold coffee is also evolving. Nespresso is developing more limited editions and new flavors, with many of these flavors being prepared cold.

In conclusion, coffee is a popular beverage in Canada, and Nespresso is adapting to the changing tastes and preferences of its customers.

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Source: Coffee Talk

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