TELL ME WHAT YOU DRINK I’LL TELL YOU WHO YOU ARE

After reading tea leaves now we can read on your cup of coffee !

The idea really started spreading with the publication of the book What’s Your Food Sign?  of Alan Hirsch, MD, neurologist which surveyed 18,631 women and men about their coffee drink preferences and personalities and shows that there is a correlation between the two ! This idea had been explored again by the body language experts Judi James and James Moore who showed a correlation between caffeine fix, self esteem and personality traits.

More recently, The You Code, wrote by James and Moore dissected the different personalities associated with the types of coffee drinkers as following.

Black coffee drinker: Sharp, neat, and to the point. Black coffee drinkers are considered minimalists. They are usually associated with high flyers and professionals.
Espresso drinker: This person is known as experienced and energetic. They are fast talkers, always looking for a good time. The downside is they tend to be moody.
Cappuccino drinker: People who drink cappuccinos are cute, loving, and warm. They are usually passionate and caring. Since they are creative, honest, kind and hard working, they put a lot of effort into personal relationships.
Latte drinker: They like to savour their coffee, taking time to ponder life’s complexities. They are indecisive, calm, and appreciate chivalry in a man. They are very supportive in a relationship.
Mocha drinker: They are complete romantics and love to be in love. They can be very affectionate, compassionate, and insightful. These spontaneous flirts are unreliable and have a hard time committing to long term relationships.
Frappucino drinker: They are trend setters. Full of life and an adventurous spirit, they like to mix things up. They are on the extroverted side, and makes friends easily. Usually known as life of the party, they are always looking for new activities and would never turn down a challenge.
Decaf soy milk drinker: A self-righteous, attention seeker with a tendency to be picky and fussy.

This theory is very interesting as it segments the market taking into account personalities of drinkers, their consumption habits, likes, dislikes, and way of living...

Plus, it involves the customer at a personal level. Indeed, customers are now “me-oriented” and seek for products which will perfectly match with who they are. 

Luxury coffee brands well understand it and work on widening their range and offering the customer a great choice of coffees. As everybody is different and has different tastes in coffee it is really hard to have unanimous support. This way coffee brands can satisfy a large range of drinkers.

This is the case for Nespresso and its famous “dosettes” system. The 12 types of “dosettes” permit every drinker to find his perfect cup of coffee.

 

When presenting their offer, Nespresso really highlights personalities linked to each type of coffee.

In the first commercial we can see George Clooney entering a Nespresso shop while two women are talking and he thinks they are talking about him: “Dark, very intense, balance, unique, mysterious, an intense body, delicate and smooth, with strong character, rich, he could be South American, deep and sensual...and a delicate after taste”. It is funny to see that a man could be described as we describe a coffee. This commercial shows the desire of Nespresso to give a personality to its coffee so that people can identify themselves and feel good about who they are.

In their latest commercials called “The Swap”, they even use names of “dosettes” as name for people as if the type of coffee you drink totally described how you are.

George Clooney: “Miss Volluto?”

Nazanin Boniadi: “That’s incredible! I always expect you to be much more...”

G: “Taller?”

NB: “ No, no ! Much more Ristretto ... Good night mister Decaffeinato”

At the end of the commercial you can see the following screen saying “Each Nespresso coffee has its own character, members Nespresso as well...” implying that they fit with every consumer needs.

In the last digital experience launch by Nespresso called “Who else?” you could enter the Nespresso commercial “the swap”. The result is a fake article on you and your Nespresso personality according to your answers during the game.

This system is a real success because it creates a funny and convenient ritual of consumption. Indeed, when being in group everybody can choose a different type of coffee and it can start discussions or jokes about people tastes and personalities. Being alone, people feel like taking a shot of strenght, confidence or sensuality starting their day in the skin of the person they choose to be!

The brand Lavazza also get into the “dosettes” market even if they are less playing on the personality aspect of each type of coffee they are offering. They have nine different “dosettes” 

In their various communication campaigns, Lavazza puts a spotlight on women in different situations to illustrate characteristics and value of the global coffee brand, not really each dosette personality.

For example, in 2007, they did a campaign representing several heroine characters to remind of the strength and beauty of women who drink this coffee brand.

In 2008, they want to show that they are a premium quality brand, precious and fancy so they featured women with a lot of details reminding of royalty.

And in 2009, they are highlighting their Italian identity.

Every campaign is sensual and extravagant to remind the consumer that drinking Lavazza coffee, he has no limit, he is superior and can be who he wants to be.

Thus, Lavazza works on coffee & identity but not in a customer-oriented way. They are more focusing on their brand identity.