The idea for Nespresso Bloom, which includes a raw honey and a coffee-infused honey syrup sourced from bees on some farms in Colombia from which the company buys beans, “stems from the company’s business model, which is ingrained in sustainability,” Nespresso North America CEO Alfonso Gonzales Loeschen told FoodNavigator-USA.
“Everything we do at Nespresso is to protect the future of coffee. And I think Nespresso Bloom reflects that perfectly because it encompasses sustainable farming practices” that not only improves biodiversity, quality and supply of the coffee, but it also increases farmers’ earning potential because it creates an alternative source of income that hopefully will encourage future generations to continue to farm and provide beans to Nespresso, Loeschen explained.
He added it also expands Nespresso’s market reach by bringing the brand beyond coffee and related accessories for the first time. It also meets consumer desire for alternative sweeteners and more responsibly sourced products and gives them an opportunity to learn about and support the transition to regenerative agriculture, Loeschen explained.
In this sense, investing in regenerative agriculture goes far beyond environmental sustainability to include basic business goals such as boosting sales and volumes, reinforcing the supply chain, expanding consumer engagement, elevating the brand and product selection through marketing and earned media, and more.
From coffee to honey: How Nespresso Bloom was made possible
Nespresso Bloom may be rooted in the company’s commitment to sustainability, but it would not be possible without the partnerships that Nespresso has forged as part of its AAA Sustainable Quality Program, said Loeschen.
He explained as part of Nespresso AAA Sustainable Quality Program, the company has worked directly with farmers for 20 years to improve the quality of their coffee, grow their income and protect the land.
For a select group of about 50 farmers in the Caldas-Antioquia region of Colombia beginning in 2020, this included participating in a pilot program in partnership with UBEES, which provided the farmers with nearly 800 beehives and monitoring technology.
“What we are doing together with UBEES is we are helping farmers learn the art of beekeeping. This helps to further their regenerative agriculture efforts because it promotes pollination … improves biodiversity and the quality of coffee beans,” he said.
The honey collected from these hives was used as the base for Nespresso Bloom, which was created through another partnership with parent-company Nestle’s R+D Accelerator in Lausanne, Switzerland. There, entrepreneurs use cutting-edge research and technology to better understand, measure and support the transition to regenerative agriculture through a consumer-centric approach.
The result of this multi-tiered collaboration was Nespresso Bloom, which Loeschen fondly called “the sweet side of espresso,” and which includes a raw Coffee Blossom Honey with a “delicate floral flavor” that can be used in beverages or recipes, such as on top of affogato, yogurt and more, and a Coffee Blossom Honey Syrup, that the company says “adds a refined coffee flavor with velvety, smooth, caramel and vanilla notes” to coffee-based beverages and other foods.
Limited distribution could scale with program
Given the small size of the pilot program currently, Nespresso Bloom will have limited availability in Nespresso Boutiques in New York City and San Francisco through Aug. 21, at which point they will be available nationwide on Nespresso.com while supplies last.
The limited rollout will allow Nespresso to gather consumer feedback before expanding the pilot and producing additional runs, said Loeschen.
“We are very confident that Nespresso Bloom will have a high consumer acceptance because of the nature of the products, its high quality” and emerging consumer interest in honey as an alternative sweetener for their coffee that they perceive as healthier than table sugar, he said.
As such, he said, he anticipates Nespresso will bring additional batches of Nespresso Bloom this year, and has “new innovations” in the work for the new line in the future.