Nestlé opens CHF80m coffee plant in Vietnam

Nestlé has opened a production factory in Vietnam to meet rising consumer demand for decaffeinated coffee, it said.

The CHF80m (€76.54m) plant in the Dong Nai province of the country is its first decaffeinated coffee beans factory in Asia.

The company currently purchases up to 25% of Vietnam’s green coffee exports every year for the production of both caffeinated and decaffeinated Nescafé around the world.

The factory will source Robusta green coffee beans from Vietnam and use a natural water-based process to extract caffeine from the beans, “enabling the decaffeinated coffee beans to retain the same taste and aroma as caffeinated ones”, it said.

Nestlé CEO Paul Bulcke said: “We are committed to continue to create shared value for its [Vietnam’s] communities, its coffee farmers and its consumers.”

The new water extraction technology will also allow the factory to have minimal environmental impact, it added.