Nestlé Japan announced the latest dedicated NESCAFÉ coffee maker, kotone (Kotone), together with a new app. The slim design offers improved quiet operation and a replaceable tank, with a price of ¥22,000 including tax. The product will launch on 1 October through online channels and select stores as a Japan-originated rollout.
Nestlé Japan announced kotone, the latest model in the NESCAFÉ Gold Blend Barista series, and plans to accelerate sales of the series. kotone features the series' highest level of quiet operation and its slimmest design, as well as the first replaceable "coffee tank" in the series.
The new NESCAFÉ app will launch on 1 October alongside kotone and operate together with the existing app as part of CRM initiatives. The new app aims to become a platform covering all NESCAFÉ products, with a system in which its character world evolves according to how it is used.
Department Head Yoshinaga Yuta (吉永祐太) said the company expects consumption to expand as the number of cups prepared with Barista machines increases and the new app is used alongside the existing one, and indicated that it plans to develop kotone as a platform. He also described the challenges involved in development, including ensuring the coffee tank's airtightness, and outlined a policy of positioning Gold Blend as the company's highest-priority brand for household coffee in the future.
The announcement serves as a prelude to Gold Blend's 60th anniversary, with promotional efforts including increased commercial placements planned from November onward. Against a backdrop of strong sales in its existing categories, Nestlé Japan aims to improve the user experience through new features and app integration.