Nespresso is poised to add Zimbabwe to the list of trendy African coffees. The unit of Nestle SA plans to start selling limited-editio...
Nespresso is poised to add Zimbabwe to the list of trendy
African coffees.
The unit of Nestle SA plans to start selling
limited-edition Zimbabwe capsules in May in 15 countries including the U.S. and
the U.K., according to chief executive officer Jean-Marc Duvoisin. Nespresso
has been working with non-profit partner TechnoServe since 2017 to revive the
southern African nation’s struggling coffee sector and will spend $1.25 million
over five years.
"We are rebuilding an industry that was
disappearing," Duvoisin told Bloomberg in a phone interview. "They
produced a lot of coffee before, so there’s a lot of history. Some people know
Zimbabwean coffee but most have never tried it."
Nespresso has made a list of countries where coffee
production has been in decline and has visited almost all of them to assess the
potential to purchase high-quality coffee. The company was particularly drawn
to Zimbabwean coffee because of its quality, Duvoisin said.
The Zimbabwe capsules will remain a limited edition for
now, but the company would consider offering it all-year round if production
increased enough, Duvoisin said.
"Many consumers never had the opportunity to taste
Zimbabwean coffee," said Stewart of TechnoServe. "As production
increases in the future, I expect we will see other companies getting
interested in Zimbabwean coffee.”
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