Sales of Nespresso products grew 30 percent in 2008

Nespresso is now the fastest growing among the most important brands at the company, annual reveneue past its goal of 2 billion Swiss francs two years ahead of schedule.

 The brand is distributed in 50
countries and employs more than 2,500 worldwide. Most sales come from
Europe, but it is also available in Latin America and North America
and has made inroads in traditional tea markets like Asia.

Nespresso now has about 175 boutique
storefronts where customers can buy machines, capsules and
accessories, sip coffee and taste the lifestyle.

And that lifestyle does not come cheap.
The coffee machines, which are co-branded, range from basic models by
Krups and Magimix, which cost 149 euros at the Paris store, to a
deluxe Miele digital model at 1,849 euros, not including
installation.

The makers keep the profit from the
machines. Nespresso sells the coffee pods, which are available only
through Nespresso boutiques, online and by telephone. It charges
around 45 cents to 50 cents for each capsule, which contains 5.5
grams to 7 grams of coffee. That price is seven to eight times the
price of Colombian ground coffee in French supermarkets.

Nespresso, like its rival Senseo,
stresses the sustainability of its offering. It sources 45 percent of
its coffee through farmers who work with the Rainforest Alliance, a
nonprofit group. It aims to lift that figure to 50 percent by next
year.

Nevertheless, the quantity of packaging
that coffee purveyors like Nespresso use has raised doubts about its
environmental impact. Nespresso had introduced 2,000 collection
points for used capsules in Switzerland and now has introduced
collection points at its stores in France. The issue is being tackled
country by country.