Brands
Nespresso expands into India with Delhi flagship
MUMBAI: Coffee connoisseurs can cheer. Nespresso, the Nestlé-owned premium coffee brand, has established its first Indian retail presence with a boutique in Delhi’s Select Citywalk Mall, marking a significant step in the firm’s Asian expansion strategy.
The Swiss company, which pioneered the premium single-serve coffee segment, has entered a market traditionally dominated by tea consumption but where urban coffee culture has gained substantial momentum in recent years. The company had initially entered the Indian market in late 2024 through e-commerce channels before committing to this brick-and-mortar investment.
Nespresso chief executive Philipp Navratil, highlighted the importance of physical retail in the firm’s market development approach. “This boutique will help us bring Nespresso’s product range to Indian coffee consumers in an immersive environment,” he noted at the launch event. The company appears to be replicating its successful retail strategy from other emerging markets, where experiential shopping has proven effective in building brand loyalty.
The Delhi boutique follows Nespresso’s established retail formula: trained coffee specialists offer tastings and personalised recommendations in a carefully designed environment showcasing both the firm’s coffee varieties and its machine range. This high-touch approach has served the brand well in other markets where coffee consumption patterns are evolving.
For Nestlé, the parent company with an already substantial presence in India, this expansion represents a strategic move into the premium segment.
“Coffee culture in India is evolving rapidly,” observed Nestlé India chairman & managing director Suresh Narayanan. “This launch reflects our commitment to deliver premium experiences to Indian consumers.”
The company has appointed Thakral Innovations as its official distribution partner in India, covering all Nespresso products across retail channels. This partnership model has been successfully deployed by Nespresso in other markets where specialised distribution expertise is required.
Notably, Nespresso has maintained supply chain connections in India since 2011, sourcing high-quality coffee through its sustainability programme. The firm currently works with approximately 2,000 Indian coffee farmers through its AAA Sustainable Quality initiative, which focuses on improving quality, productivity and environmental practices.
The Indian premium coffee market has shown resilience and growth potential despite economic headwinds, with urban consumers increasingly willing to spend on premium food and beverage experiences. Nespresso’s entry pits it against established players including Starbucks, which has operated in India since 2012 through a partnership with Tata Consumer Products.
Nespresso, which achieved B Corp certification in 2022, currently operates in 93 markets worldwide with a retail network of 791 boutiques. Whether the company can successfully cultivate a significant market in a country where tea remains the dominant hot beverage will be a key test of its globalisation strategy and the evolving tastes of Indian consumers.
Brands
Bayer sues Johnson & Johnson over prostate cancer drug advertisements
Legal dispute begins as Bayer claims rival marketing is based on flawed data
NEW YORK: Bayer has filed a federal lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson (J&J) in New York, alleging that the American pharmaceutical company has used false and misleading advertisements to promote its prostate cancer treatment, Erleada. The dispute centres on claims that Erleada is significantly more effective than Bayer’s competing drug, Nubeqa.
The legal action follows a J&J marketing campaign that cited a 51 per cent reduction in the risk of death for patients using Erleada compared to those on Nubeqa. Bayer contends that these figures are based on a study with severe methodological errors rather than a controlled clinical trial.
Bayer’s legal team argues that J&J’s real-world analysis is fundamentally flawed. According to the complaint, J&J claimed to have 24 months of patient data supporting its conclusions, even though many patients included in the study had reportedly been on the medication for only a few months, raising concerns about the reliability of long-term survival comparisons.
The lawsuit also highlights what Bayer describes as a critical approval gap. For most of the period analysed in J&J’s study, Nubeqa had not yet been approved for the specific indication being evaluated, which Bayer argues makes a direct clinical comparison inappropriate and potentially misleading.
Additionally, Bayer contends that the study suffered from significant sample imbalance. The analysis reportedly included five times as many Erleada patients as Nubeqa patients, a disparity that Bayer says introduced statistical bias and undermined the validity of the findings.
Bayer is pursuing the case under the Lanham Act, the U.S. law governing false advertising and unfair competition. The company is seeking an immediate halt to J&J’s current marketing campaign and is asking the court to require corrective statements to physicians to address what it characterises as inaccurate claims.
Furthermore, Bayer is seeking monetary damages, arguing that the alleged misleading advertisements have resulted in lost revenue and reputational harm to Nubeqa.
Johnson & Johnson has responded by stating that it stands by the integrity of its data and the rigour of its analysis. The case will now proceed through the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
