Azera bags

Source: Nestle

There are two variants of coffee bag: Espresso Roast and Americano Blend

Nestlé has overhauled its buoyant Nescafé Azera range of instant coffee, adding coffee bags and introducing a new look – backed by an £8m investment.

Aimed at younger urban shoppers, the new bags come in two Rainforest Alliance-certified variants: Espresso Roast and Americano Blend (rsp: £2.99/10x8g).

Both have been formulated so that they also work as a cold brew by adding water and leaving to chill overnight.

The bags are fully compostable, and can be added to a domestic food waste bin or home composter.

They had been launched to help coffee drinkers avoid “the mechanical hassle and mess” that came with using a cafetière, percolator or AeroPress, said Nescafé marketing manager Vassilis Karalis. Such devices were “the biggest barrier to people enjoying high-quality roast and ground coffee at home”.

Azera’s bags had “removed the obstacle” and were “as game-changing as the teabag” he added.

They join an Azera lineup with a revamped pack design across all 11 SKUs, including the ‘micro-ground’ instant coffee and Nitro RTDs. The intention was to make them more clearly stand out from imitators that “posed the potential to confuse consumers” Nescafé said.

The makeover will be backed by an £8m through-the-line spend that will encourage shoppers to ‘Stay Curious’.

It comes after Azera shot up 15% in value over the past 12 months in grocery to £67.5m [Nielsen 52 w/e 29 December 2019] following the launch of its Coffee to Go and Nitro offers.