The Instant Coffee Market: How Nescafé Became the Leader

The decline in U.S. instant coffee consumption can be attributed to the growing preference among American coffee drinkers for specialty items such as espresso-based beverages and cold brews, with only 4% of Americans choosing instant coffee, according to the National Coffee Association.

Overseas it’s a different story.

The global beverage market is dominated by soluble coffee, which accounts for approximately a quarter of all consumed beverages, according to the Brazilian Instant Coffee Industry Association. This number is steadily increasing.

According to Jake Leonti, a coffee expert at F+B Therapy, people commonly believe that the consumption of instant coffee has decreased due to the widespread availability of specialty coffee. However, the opposite is true, as the demand for instant coffee has been steadily increasing over the past 20 years.

Instant coffee, despite being known for its affordability and convenience, is often viewed as the black sheep of the coffee world. Nevertheless, 6,100 cups of Nescafé instant coffee are consumed every second, according to the company, the largest coffee brand in the world.

Nescafé has 25 factories worldwide and is sold in 180 countries. One in seven cups of coffee consumed globally is a Nescafé cup.

What led to the massive growth of the Nescafé brand, and what does the future hold for soluble coffee?

Nescafé operations were examined by CNBC in Vietnam, the world's second-largest coffee exporter after Brazil.