Report Nestlé Brews Up Battle in Thai Coffee Market Amid Legal Dispute

[snoop1130]

Picture courtesy of Nestlé

 

Nestlé, the Swiss multinational, is brewing a major shift in Thailand’s coffee industry as it gears up to challenge the influential Mahagitsiri family by planning its own coffee production plant. This move comes amid an ongoing legal tussle, which has seen both drama and determination from Nestlé.

 

The clash spilt over into public view earlier this month when the Min Buri Civil Court temporarily halted Nescafé distributions by issuing an injunction on April 3. The court prohibited Nestlé from producing or distributing its famed instant coffee under the Nescafé brand, forcing a brief pause in operations.

 

 

 

Nestlé, however, quickly regained momentum after the Central Intellectual Property and International Trade Court upheld its rights to the Nescafé trademark in Thailand. This ruling allowed the company to resume business as usual, supplying the Thai market with coffee sourced from Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia, alongside local production efforts.

 

Despite playing close to the vest about local collaborations, a market investigation identified potential partners like Benjaphanpong, Toyo Seikan (Thailand), and Quality Coffee Products Ltd (QCP). Interestingly, operations at QCP hit a snag after the ending of joint ventures on December 31, 2024. This prompted Nestlé to pursue a liquidation case against QCP, currently under scrutiny by the Bangkok South Civil Court.

 

 

 

 

 

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Nestlé stands firm, with insiders determined to continue their legal fight against the Mahagitsiri family, who are stakeholders in QCP. Company representatives assert their compliance with legal standards and express their resolve to protect the supply chain and broader industry from the fallout of this dispute.

 

The Min Buri Civil Court is slated for a key hearing on June 20 to assess Nestlé’s plea to overturn the injunction. As the legal coffee saga unfolds, it occurs against a backdrop of declining robusta bean production in Thailand, impacting domestic suppliers and stirring the market even as the instant coffee segment remains a lucrative 23 billion baht industry.

 

Nestlé’s bold push signals not just a defence of its market share but a strategic expansion that could reshape Thailand’s coffee landscape amidst these complex legal and economic currents.

 

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from The Thaiger 2025-04-23

 

 

 

[Will B Good]

Don't like coffee, but going to start drinking Nestle now.

[JoePai]

Well done Nestlé

[CallumWK]

I have no horse in the game, but I have avoided any Nestle product for as long as I remember, and especially since the CEO of Nestle Mr Brabeck-Letmathe said that “access to water is not a public right”

 

 

[hotchilli]

Over priced and over here...

[FlorC]

I avoid Nestle too.

And now this :

WEF: Meet the New Boss, as Scary as the Old Boss – Self Reliance Central

Former Nestlé CEO To Lead the World Economic Forum ━ The European Conservative

 

Sure nothing to do with coffee wars in Thailand , but Nestle all the same.

That said , I don't like monopolies , and the Mahagitsiri family

seems to have it.

[mfd101]

The sensible approach would be to ban Nestlé from using the word 'coffee' to describe its products.

[Tropicalevo]

I do not drink Nestlé, but I do wish them well in this little enterprise.

If Thailand wants overseas investment and to trade with western businesses, they must learn to treat them fairly.

(I drink Chiang Rai coffee.  )

[Bert got kinky]

1 minute ago, Tropicalevo said:

I do not drink Nestlé, but I do wish them well in this little enterprise.

If Thailand wants overseas investment and to trade with western businesses, they must learn to treat them fairly.

(I drink Chiang Rai coffee.)

 

I do not drink Nestlé, but I do wish them well in this little enterprise.

Really, you offer your wishes to the most immoral and evil company on the planet?  

 

 

 

[Chongalulu]

I've hung black shrouds over my Sage coffee grinder and De Longhi coffee maker in mourning. "Coffee ” indeed - sludge! 😡 

[Chongalulu]

No hyperbole there then....

[Tropicalevo]

17 minutes ago, Bert got kinky said:

 

I do not drink Nestlé, but I do wish them well in this little enterprise.

Really, you offer your wishes to the most immoral and evil company on the planet?  

Yes really.

They are by far way down the list of immoral and evil companies on the planet.

 

If you look at the next line in my post, you see why.

I have no fondness for Nestlé, but I do support fairness in business.

[DaRoadrunner]

On a related subject. Has anyone found a coffee that is guaranteed to be mold free? Coffee beans being known for this contaminant.

[Grusa]

3 minutes ago, DaRoadrunner said:

On a related subject. Has anyone found a coffee that is guaranteed to be mold free? Coffee beans being known for this contaminant.

Never had a problem with Bon Cafe beans. I use Dubai Esspresso, pale green label from Makro only, sofar as I know.

I never buy Nestlé products, since coming here.

[ujayujay]

Who drinks this horrible concoction that even calls itself coffee? Certainly no one who knows what real coffee tastes like! The package should say "May contain traces of coffee."

[Scouse123]

Buy Vietnamese coffee.

 

Nestle and the other big coffee movers and shakers have tried forever to enter that market but have struggled.

[sambum]

17 hours ago, Will B Good said:

Don't like coffee, but going to start drinking Nestle now.

 

Love Nescafe Red Cup!

[sambum]

1 hour ago, hotchilli said:

Over priced and over here...

 

Actually - from memory, (pre 2015) the price of Nescafe Red Cup compared very favourably with its equivalent in the UK, Nescafe granules - in fact, considerably cheaper.

[Bert got kinky]

1 hour ago, Tropicalevo said:

Yes really.

They are by far way down the list of immoral and evil companies on the planet.

 

If you look at the next line in my post, you see why.

I have no fondness for Nestlé, but I do support fairness in business.

 

They are by far way down the list of immoral and evil companies on the planet.

Maybe you should read up on this evil corporation, especially on their actions in 'The Baby Formula Scandal'.

https://utopia.org/guide/crime-controversy-nestles-5-biggest-scandals-explained/

 

From the link:

Baby formula is one of the biggest and most controversial of all Nestlé products.

Since the company’s conception in 1867, Nestlé has convinced people its baby formula is better for infants than breast milk — a claim that is categorically false. They placed particular focus on marketing in developing countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia during the 1970s, sending saleswomen dressed as nurses to convince the mothers that their formula was better for their children than their own breast milk.

Many women, struggling to afford the expensive milk touted as better than what their bodies produced for free, diluted the formula with (often unsanitary) water, further reducing its nutritional value. Millions of infants died. Many more grew up nutritionally deficient, dramatically impacting the health and lifespan of swathes of the developing world — one of the worst scandals a corporation has ever publicly faced. Meanwhile, the company pocketed billions in revenue from baby formula and continues to do so. 

It’s worth pointing out that some women cannot breastfeed, and baby formula, when prepared correctly, is an adequate substitute for breast milk. However, Nestlé exploited women by forcefully deceiving millions regarding its superiority over breast milk. It failed to educate people about proper preparation and even paid off doctors and hospitals to bolster its bogus claims. 

Today, the misconception lives on, and baby formula remains a booming market. Despite global outrage now lasting half a century, as well as tons of new research into the harm caused by Nestlé baby formula and other Nestlé products, infant formula remains an $11.5-billion market — and growing. 

 

but I do support fairness in business.

And when have they ever been fair in business?

 

[Bert got kinky]

19 minutes ago, Bert got kinky said:

 

They are by far way down the list of immoral and evil companies on the planet.

Maybe you should read up on this evil corporation, especially on their actions in 'The Baby Formula Scandal'.

https://utopia.org/guide/crime-controversy-nestles-5-biggest-scandals-explained/

 

From the link:

Baby formula is one of the biggest and most controversial of all Nestlé products.

Since the company’s conception in 1867, Nestlé has convinced people its baby formula is better for infants than breast milk — a claim that is categorically false. They placed particular focus on marketing in developing countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia during the 1970s, sending saleswomen dressed as nurses to convince the mothers that their formula was better for their children than their own breast milk.

Many women, struggling to afford the expensive milk touted as better than what their bodies produced for free, diluted the formula with (often unsanitary) water, further reducing its nutritional value. Millions of infants died. Many more grew up nutritionally deficient, dramatically impacting the health and lifespan of swathes of the developing world — one of the worst scandals a corporation has ever publicly faced. Meanwhile, the company pocketed billions in revenue from baby formula and continues to do so. 

It’s worth pointing out that some women cannot breastfeed, and baby formula, when prepared correctly, is an adequate substitute for breast milk. However, Nestlé exploited women by forcefully deceiving millions regarding its superiority over breast milk. It failed to educate people about proper preparation and even paid off doctors and hospitals to bolster its bogus claims. 

Today, the misconception lives on, and baby formula remains a booming market. Despite global outrage now lasting half a century, as well as tons of new research into the harm caused by Nestlé baby formula and other Nestlé products, infant formula remains an $11.5-billion market — and growing. 

 

but I do support fairness in business.

And when have they ever been fair in business?

 

 

I should also add that in developing countries, Nestlé gave their baby formula the new mothers for free of charge, just for long enough for the mothers to stop producing breast milk, forcing them to have to pay for baby formula.

They did this knowing that in most cases the mothers could not afford to pay for the formula and they did not have access to uncontaminated water to mix the formula with.

 

[Peterphuket]

3 hours ago, CallumWK said:

I have no horse in the game, but I have avoided any Nestle product for as long as I remember, and especially since the CEO of Nestle Mr Brabeck-Letmathe said that “access to water is not a public right”

 

 

Yes, now that you mention it, but are you aware that this figure was appointed this week as a temporary replacement for the president of the WEF?
That also says it all, I think.

[PJUK88]

Disgusting product. Calling it coffee is a slander to real coffee.

[Peterphuket]

2 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Over priced and over here...

Overpriced? This week I was in the Makro, Moccona is more than 30% more expensive.

 

2 hours ago, Tropicalevo said:

I do not drink Nestlé, but I do wish them well in this little enterprise.

If Thailand wants overseas investment and to trade with western businesses, they must learn to treat them fairly.

(I drink Chiang Rai coffee.  )

There I have little hope that Thailand will allow it, how about Aldi and Lidl, with that they are throwing up their own glasses, not going to happen.
Incidentally, I have noticed that many foreign companies are now all Thai-owned, think Lotus, Makro and many others.

[norsurin]

Thai style..same they did with Carlsberg..u cant trust this country at all.

[Peterphuket]

3 minutes ago, PJUK88 said:

Disgusting product. Calling it coffee is a slander to real coffee.

It's a matter of taste,  used an expresso machine here for years but stopped using it because I can't get good coffee here, there used to be expresso from DE but after covid no longer available, and do you know what I drink now? Instant coffee from Nestlé.

[Jonathan Swift]

19 hours ago, Will B Good said:

Don't like coffee, but going to start drinking Nestle now.

You can still eat their candy bars as well, and drink their cocoa

[Jonathan Swift]

47 minutes ago, Peterphuket said:

It's a matter of taste,  used an expresso machine here for years but stopped using it because I can't get good coffee here, there used to be expresso from DE but after covid no longer available, and do you know what I drink now? Instant coffee from Nestlé.

I don't know how wide a variation there is, but all of the Thai coffee I've ever drunk has been fabulous. I'm drinking my triple latte as I sit here. 

[Jonathan Swift]

54 minutes ago, Peterphuket said:

Overpriced? This week I was in the Makro, Moccona is more than 30% more expensive.

 

There I have little hope that Thailand will allow it, how about Aldi and Lidl, with that they are throwing up their own glasses, not going to happen.
Incidentally, I have noticed that many foreign companies are now all Thai-owned, think Lotus, Makro and many others.

In the case of 7-11, the parent company is, I believe in Japan, the Thai business is a subsidiary owned and run independently. I imagine this is a common model. 

[Jonathan Swift]

Nice topic to read about over my morning (Thai) coffee

[AhFarangJa]

4 hours ago, CallumWK said:

I have no horse in the game, but I have avoided any Nestle product for as long as I remember, and especially since the CEO of Nestle Mr Brabeck-Letmathe said that “access to water is not a public right”

 

 

The ceo of Nestle, who has just taken over the chairmanship of the WEF as well. Should be a warning of things to come.