The factory in the Northern German city of Schwerin will create 450 new jobs and has taken two years to build – it will produce capsules for both hot and cold coffee- and tea-based drinks.
The new factory will service demand alongside existing sites in Tutbury, UK (this factory alone produces 3bn capsules/year, 92% for export to 50+ world markets) and Girona, Spain.
Nestle describes Dolce Gusto as one of its fastest-growing brands – the company doesn’t break out precise figures but it grew double-digit in Latin America in 2013 and is growing strongly in its traditional Western European powerbase.
Nestle CFO Wan Ling said in February 2013 that Dolce Gusto would soon reach CHF 1bn ($1.07bn) in sales.
The brand was launched in 2006 in Switzerland, Germany and the UK.