Nestlé’s Coffee Marketing Strategy in Japan: A Case Study in Brand Psychology

Back in the 1970s, Japan had a problem. Not a small one. A cultural one.

Nescafé (Nestlé’s instant coffee brand) was trying to carve a place in a market deeply rooted in tea tradition. Yet despite packaging, pricing and promotion, coffee just wouldn’t stick.

According to multiple sources, Japanese consumers lacked the emotional or cultural connection to coffee that existed elsewhere — no early memories, no daily rituals, no taste imprint.