They make buying the product as friction free, easy and enjoyable as possible. They make brewing it as easy as possible. No skills, no cleaning, just push a button. As the video showcased their new retail concept it seemed as if they’d made a list of the reasons people might not want to buy their coffee, and then built a store that ticked that list’s solutions off one by one.
Ultimately my point is this: Nespresso and K-Cups success clearly demonstrate that people are happy to pay more for coffee. They are happy to pay a lot more. Their enormous sales volumes are solid evidence of this. I don’t think we should be angry about how much they charge, unless we’re directing this at our own failures to reach that price point despite having better product. One could infer that Nespresso’s success implies we’re way too cheap.
