the Swiss company Migros launches pods without capsules, 100% compostable

“The most significant product innovation in the history of Migros.The Swiss group, number one in mass distribution in the country, is not overreacting to present its latest product, launched on Tuesday, which according to him “revolutionize the world of coffee“. Migros presents it as “the world’s first capsule-less coffee capsule system“. It is concretely balls of compressed coffee, coated with a thin film of natural original, made from algae. So without any aluminum or plastic, materials with which coffee pods are traditionally made.

These pods, called “coffee ball», are thus «fully compostable in the garden“, underlines the Swiss group, which presents its system as being”zero waste“. This is where the main innovation of these kinds of coffee balls lies. Because, as Migros points out, “every year, the amount of waste produced by coffee capsules, worldwide, amounts to 100,000 tons. Although partially recyclable, the capsules are mostly thrown in the trash.It sells 63 billion units every year.

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These pods obviously only work with a special coffee machine, also presented by Migros on Tuesday. Which is also ecological, specifies the group, present on the coffee market via its subsidiary Delica – and in particular its brand of Café Royal pods. It is indeed made largely from recycled materials, just like the packaging cases to put them on the shelves, which look like egg boxes, revealed the Swiss group, which played until the end on new consumer expectations in terms of ecology.

Simultaneous launch on Tuesday in Switzerland and France

In addition, at a time when many are worried about their energy bills, these machines also automatically go into standby after one minute, Migros pointed out during a press conference organized with great fanfare on Tuesday, in the presence of CEO Fabrice Zumbrunnen, to mark the launch of this innovation.

Because the marketing of machines and pods was launched in Switzerland, in Migros supermarkets and on the internet, from Tuesday, as well as in France. In France, the machines must be offered at Boulanger, then at Darty and in supermarkets, according to the specialized media LSA. The pods will be sold at Carrefour, Auchan and Leclerc from September 20, indicate The echoes. “CoffeeBis then due to launch in Germany in the spring of 2023.Other markets are plannedsays Migros.

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For the company, which is now a small thumb on the capsule market – the market share of its Café Royal brand was limited to 0.3% in Western Europe in 2021 – the main obstacle is to the fact of having to buy a new machine, different from those with which households are already equipped. But Ghassan Kara, director of Delica France, hopes that Migros machines will gradually take hold as households replace their equipment. In France, they will be sold around 179 euros. “Things will happen naturally. It’s a marathon, not a 100 meters“, he said in an interview with AFP, insisting that the reactions were “very positiveduring market research.