Nestlé is pouring its Nescafé Original and Gold Blend coffees into refill packs in a bid to replicate the success of the refill range launched by rival Kenco a year ago.
The Nescafé Original and Gold Blend refills, which are being rolled out to stores now, come in 150g pouches like their Kenco counterparts.
Unlike the rival range, however, the packaging carries no obvious reference to the format being eco-friendly.
At £3.78 for the Gold Blend pouch, and £2.98 for Original, the Nescafé refills are slightly cheaper per 100g of coffee than the brand's 100g jars, which cost £2.78 for Gold Blend and £2.28 for Original.
The Kenco Eco refill range has an rsp of £3.58 for a 150g pouch.
Nestlé is hoping the new product will prove as popular as the Kenco line-up, which has generated £14m in sales since its debut in September last year. It will support the launch with heavyweight advertising from later this month.
"The refill pack is a growing format in the coffee category," said Nescafé marketing manager, Warren Plaskett. "As the number-one brand in the market, Nescafé is committed to offering greater choice based on our consumers' needs.
"This is a great new addition to our range and, backed by TV advertising later this month, we're confident it will do well."
Kenco owner Kraft declined to comment on the Nestlé refills, but voiced surprise last month that no other producers had yet launched a rival eco-pack.
"I don't know why there hasn't been a copy," said Kenco brand manager Toby Smart. "We did it because we felt it was the right thing to do for the environment and to give consumers more choice and the ability to buy coffee in a different way."
The Nescafé refill packs are the second launch under the brand in a month.
It introduced Nescafé 3in1, a pre-mixed blend of coffee, whitener and sugar, aimed at students at the end of last month.
Nescafé instant coffees have recorded a 2.6% sales increase to £347.9m over the past year [SymphonyIRI 52w/e 17 July 2010].
The Nescafé Original and Gold Blend refills, which are being rolled out to stores now, come in 150g pouches like their Kenco counterparts.
Unlike the rival range, however, the packaging carries no obvious reference to the format being eco-friendly.
At £3.78 for the Gold Blend pouch, and £2.98 for Original, the Nescafé refills are slightly cheaper per 100g of coffee than the brand's 100g jars, which cost £2.78 for Gold Blend and £2.28 for Original.
The Kenco Eco refill range has an rsp of £3.58 for a 150g pouch.
Nestlé is hoping the new product will prove as popular as the Kenco line-up, which has generated £14m in sales since its debut in September last year. It will support the launch with heavyweight advertising from later this month.
"The refill pack is a growing format in the coffee category," said Nescafé marketing manager, Warren Plaskett. "As the number-one brand in the market, Nescafé is committed to offering greater choice based on our consumers' needs.
"This is a great new addition to our range and, backed by TV advertising later this month, we're confident it will do well."
Kenco owner Kraft declined to comment on the Nestlé refills, but voiced surprise last month that no other producers had yet launched a rival eco-pack.
"I don't know why there hasn't been a copy," said Kenco brand manager Toby Smart. "We did it because we felt it was the right thing to do for the environment and to give consumers more choice and the ability to buy coffee in a different way."
The Nescafé refill packs are the second launch under the brand in a month.
It introduced Nescafé 3in1, a pre-mixed blend of coffee, whitener and sugar, aimed at students at the end of last month.
Nescafé instant coffees have recorded a 2.6% sales increase to £347.9m over the past year [SymphonyIRI 52w/e 17 July 2010].
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