Nespresso is big on Reddit.
So big, in fact, that a few years ago, Reddit approached the Italian luxury coffee brand to see if it was interested in creating a branded presence on the platform.
Reddit doesn’t generally seek input from brands in its community-based subreddits. But it made an exception for Nespresso because of its passionate fan base and the level of Nespresso-related activity on the platform, according to Jessica Padula, VP of marketing and interim head of sustainability at Nespresso.
Strategically speaking, Reddit is a key testing channel for Nespresso. The brand pulls insights from Reddit conversations that inform decisions like product development, partnerships and new flavors to explore, Padula said.
For instance, last month, Nespresso decided to make its limited-edition Cafecito de Puerto Rico coffee a permanent offering based on a slew of comments from Nespresso aficionados asking for its return on Reddit and other social platforms. The brand has also announced new and returning coffees, including a limited-edition coffee, early only on Reddit.
And Nespresso developed a special drawer that fits underneath its machines after seeing a large number of people post on Reddit and other social platforms about wanting a better way to organize their capsule collections.
Beyond Reddit, there are multiple Nespresso fan groups on Facebook with thousands of members. But Nespresso is more of a voyeur in these groups, both because the sheer volume of conversations makes it unrealistic to actively participate and because Nespresso doesn’t want to cramp anyone’s style, Padula said.
“We would be showing up almost like Mom and Dad showing up to your party in high school,” she said.
Padula spoke with AdExchanger.
AdExchanger: Who are your target audiences?
JESSICA PADULA: People who don’t just casually drink coffee or do it to function and get out of the house in the morning. Our core audience is obsessed with coffee.
We skew slightly more male than female. We’re bringing the age of our average consumer down a bit, but we span a pretty wide age range, from Gen Z to 55.
How are Gen Z coffee drinkers different from past generations?
They’re the person who is going to a coffee shop every day and getting their iced latte to go. My niece is 20 years old, and, if you say you want coffee, she’s going to bring you an iced coffee unless you specify hot coffee. It’s almost the inverse of my generation and the generations we were targeting before.
Coming out of COVID, Gen Z wants brands to come back in person with them. They’re young, they’re playful and they don’t want the perfect, pristine thing.
Who are Nespresso’s main competitors?
It’s probably your local coffee shop that’s sourcing their own coffee beans, just like we are. They’re doing it on a smaller scale, but they feel more personal and connected to the consumer.
In the single-serve coffee space, Keurig is our biggest adversary.
What’s an example of a tactic Nespresso has used to reach Gen Z?
Over the summer, we had our first big in-person event post-COVID. We took over the Pacific Wheel in Santa Monica to celebrate the launch of the Vertuo Pop [pod coffee and espresso] machine.
We converted three of the red and yellow gondolas into blue iced coffee cafés. You walked into a full-blown coffee shop.
Consumers got to engage with the brand in a one-to-one fashion, which Gen Z is looking for. They also had a fun experience they got to share on social media, which is their cultural currency.
Does Nespresso offer other brand “experiences”?
During COVID, we launched virtual tasting experiences. Our coffee ambassador [James Pergola] offered 20- to 40-person master classes to some of our VIP customers.
Are virtual tastings still going on?
We still do them roughly monthly. Now we’re talking about how to make them more in person, but I think people like the flexibility of being able to do tastings at eight o’clock at night from their couch.
What is your customer acquisition and retention strategy?
We’re a DTC brand, first and foremost, but a significant volume of our acquisition comes from trade partners like Amazon, Target and legacy partners that have their own media environments. On the retention side, we have a significant CRM program, so we’re in touch with a majority of our consumers every week over email.
We poll our audiences and get feedback through email about what they like, don’t like and how they drink their coffee. That data fuels our consumer database and allows us to be targeted and specific with new coffee launches, offers and invitations to experiences.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
