To offer coffee drinkers a new opportunity to enjoy their favorite beverage, Nestlé has launched a new coffee machine, which is specially designed to appeal to Europe’s small businesses. 

Photo: Nescafé Alegria, from www.nescafe-alegria.com

Due to its small size, The Nescafé Alegria created by the company’s ‘out-of-home’ food services business Nestlé Professional targets ‘micro-enterprises’ of fewer than ten employees.

Nestlé researched the market and found a gap—there was no cost-effective system that would allow small organizations to make different kinds of coffee for their customers.

“The days of a plain black coffee are over,” said Michiel Kernkamp, Nestlé Professional’s Head of Beverages. “Consumers want something more complex. It’s an advantage for small businesses like hairdressers, florists or car dealerships to be able to offer their clients a latte macchiato or cappuccino at the touch of a button. You simply place a cup of fresh milk on the machine and it steams it from above with a hot water jet. No milk passes through the system, so it’s very easy to clean.”

The Nescafé Alegria uses single ‘cartridges’ that can be slotted into the machine to fill its coffee tank. Each cartridge contains 115g of coffee a blend of soluble and finely ground roast coffee, enough to make up to 120 espresso cups or 40 cappuccino cups.

The design of the Nescafé Alegria follows Nestlé’s highly successful Nescafé Barista home coffee machine launched in 2009 and available in Japan only. More than 750,000 have been sold since then, making it the most popular coffee machine in the country.

The Nescafé Alegria machine has already been launched in five countries in Europe including the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland and Russia. Nestlé Professional plans to roll out the machine in other European countries later this year. It may also launch in Latin America and Asia.