Paths to Advantage no.5

Product experience. Successful products have an emotional component that builds a bridge to consumers, becoming part of their lives. Expanding on this aspect of a brand can be another way to build difficult-to-copy value into a product. Logistically challenging and often costly, such an effort can nevertheless be effective for the right brand.
Nestlé SA has succeeded in transforming its Nespresso System into a chain of stores that sell appliances and coffee. The Nespresso System centers on high-quality packaged espresso packets that work with a special espresso maker. It carries an emotional claim as the first product to bring true café taste into European homes. Nestlé capitalized on the system’s modularity and the company’s key relationships along the value chain to open 79 retail locations in Geneva, Vienna, Paris, Zurich, Moscow, and other cities.