Lockdown love of coffee leads to record Nespresso revenues

Irish sales made up 10% of total sales across Ireland and the UK last year.

The Swiss-headquartered, Nestle-owned coffee maker operates seven outlets and employs 63 staff in Ireland.

‘Lockdown consumers’ here last year helped Nespresso to brew up record Irish revenues as sales of Nespresso here soared by 34% to £28.7m (€33.5m).

Accounts for Nespresso UK Ltd show that its Irish business last year outperformed the UK business in terms of growth and recorded average weekly revenues of €645,612 here.

The £28.7m worth of sales of Nespresso here in 2020, boosted by the Covid-19 pandemic's enforced shutdowns of cafes and restaurants, followed sales of £21.43m (€25.08m) in 2019 — an increase of £7.27m (€8.5m).

The UK business recorded a 17% increase in sales last year. The increase in sales in the Republic of Ireland was double that in 2020.

The directors state that growth at the company was boosted by e-commerce along with “a high demand from lockdown consumers”.

The Swiss-headquartered, Nestle-owned coffee maker operates seven outlets and employs 63 staff in Ireland.

Nespresso UK recorded pre-tax profits of £11.7m (€13.69m) in 2020 from its UK and Irish sales.

The Irish sales made up 10% of total sales of £287.7m (€336.6m) across Ireland and the UK last year.

In terms of the brand’s busiest periods last year, a spokeswoman for Nespresso UK and Ireland said that “beyond Christmas, June 2020 was a strong month; driven in part by the reopening of boutiques and customers eager to return to an immersive Nespresso coffee experience”.

MD of Nespresso UK and Republic of Ireland, Guillaume Chesneau said: “Naturally, we have seen a significant increase in online sales across the Republic of Ireland, with many people working remotely and looking to create a barista-style experience at home.” 

Following the ease of restrictions, our seven boutiques also continue to play a key role in driving an elevated customer experience, working in tandem with Nespresso’s e-commerce channels.”

“We are also seeing a growing demand from consumers to learn more about coffee quality and sustainability, which we believe are intrinsically linked as we work towards achieving our ambition of offering customers a carbon neutral cup of coffee by the end of 2022."

CLIMATE & SUSTAINABILITY HUB