How Nescafé is “reinventing” itself for younger audiences

Nestlé is a big name in coffee. The Swiss food giant owns Nespresso, sells Starbucks products in retail, and under its Nescafé brand is the dominant player globally in instant coffee.

But instant coffee is likely not what the ‘cool kids’ are drinking these days, if you‘ll excuse the lingo. Today, younger consumers want iced coffee, according to Nestlé. “Two out of three young consumers regularly drink cold coffee,” says Zenas Liritis, global communication manager for Nestlé’s Coffee Strategic Business Unit.

This lands Nestlé in a pickle. How does a brand so closely tied to jars of Nescafé Gold, or the sleeker sachets of Nescafé Cappuccino, appeal to Gen Z? The answer, suggests Liritis, lies in coffee concentrate and influencer marketing.

Nescafé signs global TikTok star Zach King

Like George Clooney for Nespresso, Nescafé has been on the hunt for its own ambassador. Or rather, influencer.

The brand expanded into coffee concentrate around this time last year, having observed that cold coffee is one of the fastest growing in the coffee industry. One year on, and Nescafé is making another push to broaden appeal with Gen Z consumers.

Today, the coffee brand is announcing a partnership with TikTok sensation Zach King. The influencer has more than 185m fans and holds the Guinness World Record for the most viewed video on TikTok – with 2.2bn views.

Nestlé describes King as a “digital wizard”, and not just because he regularly garners millions of views per video. The influencer could be described as a modern-day magician, making the impossible appear possible on-screen.

“I’ve always loved turning everyday things into something unexpected,” says the social media star. “This project with Nescafé has been all about having fun, getting creative, and showing how even your afternoon coffee can have a twist of magic.”

Nescafé ‘reinvents’ itself for Gen Z

Aside from having a momentous online following, what is it about King that makes him best-placed to market coffee concentrate to Gen Z consumers?

“Zach has a unique ability to entertain and engage his audience,” says Liritis. “His stories are fun, creative, and infused with a twist of magic – attributes that resonate with Gen Z in digital storytelling. This aligns perfectly with our goal to reinvent Nescafé, appealing to a wider and younger demographic.”

The moto of Nestlé’s Nescafé Espresso Concentrate is “hacking your coffee”, which leans into the creative and personalised culture of younger audiences, he adds.

Nescafé Espresso Concentrate can be mixed with milk for an iced latte, to water for an Americano, or else consumers can get creative with other mixers such as juice or sparkling water.

“Hack your coffee the way you like it, which means create your own personal version of how you like to drink your coffee,” says Liritis. “Zach King embodies this hacking movement perfectly, through his very own authentic way of telling or even hacking a story digitally.”

How will Nescafé raise brand awareness among Gen Z consumers?

King is particularly popular among consumers aged 18 to 24. Nestlé hopes this partnership will help convert this demographic into Nescafé Coffee Concentrate drinkers.

But it‘s not known how Nestlé will evaluate the campaign‘s success. A primary objective is to increase engagement and brand awareness among Gen Z consumers, which can be challenging – but not impossible – to measure, thanks to tools such as surveys and social listening.

The partnership spans TV ads, exclusive social media videos, and behind-the-scenes footage. Launching first in the US, the campaign will then hit the UK, before expanding globally throughout the year.