Retail trade Migros wants to grow strongly with its own coffee ball system
Migros wants to grow strongly with its own Coffee B coffee ball system. Business in Germany in particular should provide a boost. And in a few years, Coffee B should break even.
05.11.2025, 10:26
SDA
The retail giant launched Coffee B in the fall of 2022 under the slogan "the biggest product innovation in Migros' history". Migros saw the new coffee system with balls of pressed coffee that are compostable as a challenge to Nespresso and Co. with their capsules made of aluminum or plastic. The compostable capsules produce massively less waste.
The innovation "promises to radically change the coffee industry", said the then Migros CEO Fabrice Zumbrunnen at the launch. Migros invested a significant sum in the double-digit millions before the launch.
"Perhaps a little megalomaniac"
"We were perhaps a little megalomaniacal in September 2022 when we talked about the biggest innovation in Migros' history," admitted Coffee B manager Frank Wilde to the media at the coffee ball factory in Birsfelden BL on Tuesday. In the beginning, the company had to struggle with teething troubles with the machines and coffee ball production.
Today, the eighth improved version of the coffee machine has been launched. And the coffee has also become much better, said Wilde. Since the launch three years ago, Migros has sold a total of over 500,000 coffee machines and over 160 million coffee balls.
In the current year alone, around 22 million coffee balls will be sold in Switzerland. This is 4 million more than in 2024. Sales of machines are up 10 percent on the previous year to 33,000, giving Coffee B a market share of 2.5 percent of the Swiss market.
Closure of Melectronics slows things down
However, business has been slowed by the closure of Melectronics, explained those responsible. The Migros electronics store chain was an important sales channel for the coffee machines.
As a result, coffee machine sales in the current year are still significantly lower than in 2023, when Migros sold 40,000 machines, as Wilde said in an interview with the news agency AWP on the sidelines of the event.
The willingness of the Swiss to switch is restrained. 57 percent of households have a portion coffee machine. That is the highest market share in the world. In Germany, the figure is only around a quarter. But people would only buy a new coffee machine every five or six years. "The business takes time," said Wilde.
Germany as a growth driver
More impetus is coming from Germany, even though Media Markt has left the Coffee-B business there. However, sales at the large retail group Edeka and its discount subsidiary Netto are providing a boost. The potential in the 8,000 stores there is much greater than at Migros with its around 650 stores.
In Germany, around 155,000 coffee machines will be sold this year. That is 55,000 more than in the previous year. The number of coffee balls grew from 32.5 million to 50 million. This gives the company a market share of 4 percent in the northern neighboring country. "And Edeka has decided to step on the gas even more," said Wilde.
In addition to Germany, Coffee B is also available in France, Italy and the Persian Gulf. In Italy, the Italian coffee group Illy is responsible for distribution, and in the United Arab Emirates the beverage trading company Perfetto.
In addition, Keurig Dr. Pepper licenses Coffee B's coating technology in North America and Mexico. Because the quantities of coffee are much larger there, a new system is required. The small coffee balls are not sufficient for quantities of up to half a liter. In North America, pressed coffee in the shape of an ice hockey puck will be used instead.
However, the international expansion is only just beginning. "We are working on licenses with partners all over the world." With the exception of Africa, the company is active on all continents, said those responsible.
Nespresso business much bigger
Overall, however, the business with Nespresso-compatible capsules and Migros' own Delizio capsules is still significantly larger, admitted Migros supermarket management member Miriam Richter. According to Migros, Delizio alone is seven times bigger than Coffee B.
"But it is not correct to say that Coffee B is a secondary business," said Richter. With the compostable capsules, waste could be significantly reduced. Currently, only 30 percent of all coffee capsules can be recycled.
"We are the third-largest manufacturer of Nespresso-compatible capsules in the world," said Wilde in an interview with AWP. The majority of these are aluminum capsules, which are not recycled. "We are attacking this business with Coffee B." One system will decrease, the other will increase. It's like with electric cars and combustion engines.
Moreover, Coffee B's break-even point is not too far away. "We will be profitable in a few years," said Wilde.
