How Nescafé Brewed a Comeback with Content, Not Coffee

Nescafé, once a titan of morning time routines, was gradually getting lost in the shuffle of
newer, cooler cafes and hipster artisanal coffee. Rather than doing the traditional brand
refresh or hot pursuit of trendy aesthetic, Nescafé did something much smarter with its coffee
campaign; it created content aiming to resonate with the worst anxieties of the hustle
generation.
Its campaign titled “It All Starts with Nescafé” was a bold repositioning from selling coffee to
selling ambition. Late nights, early mornings, proposal rejections, getting back up and trying
again – Nescafé branded itself as the drink of dreamers. Caffeine was an afterthought; the
mindset was front and center.
What followed were a series of ultra-superbly writing ad-films, YouTube mini-series and
Instagram snippets of relatable stories with less emphasis on the product and more emphasis
on the hustle. No steaming mugs, no coffee beans falling in slow motion across the screen –
relatable stories about life that made you feel validated. It was not lifestyle marketing; it was
life marketing.
The brand figured out where its customers were living—digitally. Nescafé leaned into apps
like YouTube and Spotify, creating playlists, longer ads, and collaborations with creators that
had depth. It wasn’t about the shortcut, it was about emotional equity.
This content-first, product-second approach/reset gave the brand a new identity. All of a
sudden, Nescafé wasn’t a coffee for your parents—it was the coffee for young professionals,
freelancers, students, and others who needed a mental boost more than a caffeine boost.
Where so many legacy brands try to beat startups on packaging or price, Nescafé chose to
lean into storytelling. And it worked. It found its way back into the conversation without
doing a full rebrand—just sharpening its message.
The coffee market is saturated, and Nescafé didn’t choose to blend into it. It chose to brew up
a story strong enough to break out.