Introduction
In the 1970s, Nestlé recognized the market potential for coffee in Japan. However, at this time, Japan had a deeply ingrained tea drinking culture where the Japanese largely did not grow up drinking or having childhood memories associated with coffee. Nestlé’s initial efforts to introduce and sell coffee products in Japan failed to gain traction as coffee was not ingrained in Japanese cultural behaviors or rituals in the same way as tea. This prompted Nestlé to realize it needed to take a different approach to cultivate appreciation for coffee in Japan.
Understanding the Cultural Challenge
Tea has been an important part of Japanese culture for centuries, intertwined with cultural practices like the Japanese tea ceremony. Acting as an honorific ritual, the tea ceremony was an important part of Japanese social and spiritual traditions, cherished within cultural identity. Since tea was so cemented in traditions and social ceremonies, coffee was largely foreign to most Japanese consumers. Unlike in the West, they did not grow up seeing family and friends drink and enjoy coffee. Without fond childhood impressions of coffee, this presented a significant cultural hurdle for Nestlé to overcome through new strategies.
Developing an Emotional Resonance Strategy
To address this challenge, Nestlé hired French psychoanalyst Clotaire Rapaille to better understand Japanese coffee behaviors and devise a strategy. Rapaille’s view that childhood experiences shape lifelong preferences indicated Nestlé needed positive impressions among youth to cultivate future demand. He advised creating sweet coffee products appealing to children’s tastes to establish familiarity with coffee’s flavor through emotional resonance. Products like coffee ice cream and chocolate aimed to positively imprint coffee onto young palates.
Executing the Strategy
Armed with this guidance, Nestlé launched widespread ad campaigns using Japanese celebrities in print, television, and media to promote coffee as a fun, friendly, desirable social activity. This humanized coffee and made it seem modern. Nestlé also installed thousands of attractive vending machines prominently featuring Nescafé across Japan, making coffee easily accessible to busy urban consumers and establishing it as a daily routine alongside soda and tea.
Achieving Market Success
Through persistent cultural reframing efforts over decades, Nescafé ultimately succeeded in becoming the dominant instant coffee brand. No longer a foreign beverage, it established itself as an authentic Japanese experience. This allowed Nestlé to capitalize on a huge new potential market.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Nestlé’s journey shows new products can succeed even in markets with strong existing traditions, if introduced sensitively with cultural understanding. By carefully imprinting positive childhood memories of coffee through sweet flavors and reframing it as trendy, Nestlé helped generate lasting demand in Japan. This case provides valuable lessons for international expansion.
