REDvolution: Repositioning the Nescafé Brand

In June 2014, Nestlé S.A. (Nestlé) launched a new brand repositioning exercise called ‘REDvolution’. The main objective of the campaign was to improve the image of the Nescafé brand among young customers and consolidate its competitive advantage in the market. The sales of Nescafé had been declining since the year 2008 in some of the major coffee markets in the world as the demand for instant coffee had gone down. Many customers perceived instant coffee to be outdated. Younger customers who were drinking coffee for the first time in their lives preferred the freshly brewed coffee served by coffee chains like Starbucks.

Another major reason for the decline in demand was the availability of portable coffee making machines. These machines made it easy to brew fresh coffee in homes and offices. Modern coffee machines offered more choice to customize coffee than instant coffee brands like Nescafé. Nestlé’s own range of portable coffee machines competed aggressively with the instant coffee products sold under the Nescafé brand. Other smaller instant coffee brands were also giving stiff competition to the Nescafé brand in its key markets around the world. .......