Nespresso’s new Oceania chief brews up growth ideas for local market

Nespresso’s newly appointed managing director of the Oceania region, Stefan Vermeulen is eyeing a number of avenues for growth.

Stefan Vermeulen is managing director Of Nespresso Oceania

Nespresso’s newly appointed managing director of the Oceania region, Stefan Vermeulen is eyeing a number of avenues for growth, two of which include professional offices and the hospitality sectors and its popular Vertuo product, a machine and coffee pair released in 2021 that was designed to offer cafe and barista-quality coffee to consumers.

Mr Vermeulen, who has stepped up from his previous post leading the New Zealand market, told The Growth Agenda he sees Australia and New Zealand as “lighthouse” markets to drive global innovation off the back of a series of locally-born products that have been taken to other markets in recent years.

Nespresso’s Creatista coffee machine, launched in 2016, is among them, and was co-developed in the Australian market first with Breville, before being scaled up globally.

It also recently launched new products designed in-market with Nespresso’s Switzerland head office that cater to the coffee tastes of Australian and New Zealand customers.

Mr Vermeulen will relocate to Sydney for the new role and succeeds Jean-Marc Dragoli, who will now step into the position of global head of Nespresso authorised brands, based in Switzerland.

Mr Dragoli spent four years growing the Oceania business from Australia, which included a number of initiatives spanning sustainability, product development, personalisation and expanding its delivery services.

Mr Vermeulen said the brand would be holding the line on its marketing budget. “Marketing budgets — as in a very general term — we are not cutting back. I think we are really going a little bit deeper than in the past in looking at that media mix, and seeing which channels deliver the best return on investment.”

Earlier this year, Nespresso appointed its first ambassador for Australia, actor Josh Hueston, who has appeared in shows such as Heartbreak High. Hueston has put his name to Nespresso’s Vertuo POP machine — a collaboration that was developed and brokered by Nespresso’s earned creative agency, Poem.

As Mr Vermeulen takes the reins for Oceania, he said the business would continue to focus on cultivating closer connections with its customers too.

“I think we have a huge advantage that we are a direct-to-consumer business model, which means that we know each and every single one of our consumers.”

Retail visitation to Nespresso’s 22 shops across Australia and New Zealand is “getting back to pre-Covid levels” according to Mr Vermeulen, while online retail remains strong.

“Retail is still a very important channel for us. We saw that during Covid and right after, there was a big shift to online sales. But that is also shifting back.”

He added that the brand would continue to build on its in-store customer experience.

“Delivering that brand experience, but also, having people taste and experience the coffee and listen to the stories of our coffee experts really builds that love for the brand and builds ambassadors afterwards,” he said.

“Together with head office, we’re also looking at an evolution of the look, feel and the setup of our stores in order to support that brand experience and to lift our coffee and sustainability story.”

Mr Vermeulen plans to continue sustainability initiatives that he also spearheaded in his previous NZ-focused role, which included a local recycling program and reforestation projects.