'Nescafé' is one of the world's top-selling brands of
instant coffee, made by
Nestlé. It comes in the form of many different products. The name is a
portmanteau of the words "''Nestlé''" and "''café''".
[1] Nestlé's flagship powdered coffee product was introduced in
Switzerland on
April 1,
1938[2] after being developed for seven years by
Max Morgenthaler and team.
1
It was called Nescafé in its U.S. TV ads throughout the '50s and '60s, as well as in store packaging. Later, Nestle introduced a new brand in the
United States called 'Taster's Choice', which supplanted Nescafé for many years. In 2003, the company reintroduced the Nescafé brand, and the product is now known as 'Nescafé Taster's Choice'.
In 2003 and 2004, fashion gurus
Trinny Woodall and
Susannah Constantine became the faces of Nescafé when they were featured in advertisements promoting the brand of coffee.
In Australia, it is known as 'Nescafé Blend 43'.
Popularity
★ Due to Nescafé's enormous popularity, during
World War II, "''the entire production of its U.S. plant, about a million cases a year, was reserved for military use only''".
[3]
★ In many countries, 'Nescafe' is commonly used to refer to any instant coffee.
★ In
Hebrew, the word "nes" means miracle, and the word "cafe" means coffee, leading many
Israelis to believe the name of the product means "miracle of coffee".
★ Taster's Choice is referenced in the
Food Will Win the War song "Big Yellow".
★ Nescafe gives you free gifts if you collect bean tokens from the back of selected jars
[1]
Lawsuit
In February 2005, the Associated Press reported Nestlé lost a lawsuit and was ordered to pay $15.6 million US to
Russell Christoff for using an image of him without his permission on their Taster's Choice label for approximately five years (1998-2003).
[4] The $15.6 million judgment was subsequently reversed in its entirety by the California Court of Appeal. (''Christoff v. Nestle USA, Inc.'' (July 24, 2007, B182880) __ Cal.Rptr.3d __ [2007 WL 2111013].)
References
1. nestle.com Nescafé. Retrieved October 20, 2005.
2. nestle.com Nestlé Beverages. Retrieved October 20, 2005.
3. nescafe.co.uk Nestlé UK - History of Instant Coffee Retrieved October 20, 2005.
4. CBS News Article .6M Award For Coffee 'Mug' February 2nd, 2005.
External links
★
Official Web Site
★
Ethical Trading and Plantation Web Site
★ Nescafe pickmeups
[2]
★ Nescafe.co.uk
[3]
★ History of coffee
[4]