Nestlé is spending SFr563m ($697.6m) to build its own coffee production plant in Thailand after the end of a local joint venture.
Between 1990 and 2024, the Swiss giant had worked with local group Quality Coffee Products (QCP) to manufacture Nescafé products in the country.
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The contract ended in December 2024, with the breakup triggering court proceedings, which ultimately found in favour of Nestlé earlier this year.
Since 2025, Nestlé has maintained the production of Nescafé drinks in Thailand through installing lines in existing factories, outsourcing to local firms and temporarily importing products, it told Just Drinks.
The new plant in the Thai province of Samut Prakan will supply both the domestic market and neighboring countries.
The factory will make various Nescafé products, spanning soluble coffee, ready-to-drink options, and coffee blends, it said in a separate statement today (9 July).
The site will also include a distribution centre.
The facility is due to start operations in the latter half of 2028 and will be equipped with the “most advanced technology” and AI-enabled systems, it added.
The Swiss food and drinks giant described Thailand as a “dynamic” coffee market with an estimated value of about SFr1bn.
It has operated in the country for more than 130 years and, according to its 2025 annual report, runs seven factories there.
Remy Ejel, the executive vice president and CEO of Nestlé Zone Asia, Oceania and Africa (AOA), said: “This new state-of-the-art factory will increase our Nescafé production capacity in Southeast Asia and contribute to the long-term growth of our coffee business in one of the world’s most dynamic coffee markets.”
Nestlé said the new factory will generate more than 500 jobs and source ingredients locally.
The investment has secured backing from Thailand’s Board of Investment and aligns with the government’s ambition to advance a bio-circular green (BCG) economy.
The project adds to a broader run of coffee-related investments announced by Nestlé last year.
In March, the company said it would spend about €15m (then $15.7m) at its Girona factory in Catalonia, Spain, where it is adding two packaging lines for Nescafé instant coffee and Nescafé Dolce Gusto capsules.
A month later, it announced plans to invest VND1.9trn (then $73m) for the expansion of a coffee production facility in Vietnam’s Dong Nai province.
In November, Nestlé said it would invest £28m (then $36.7m) at its Dalston plant in Cumbria to construct a new mixing facility and add two packing lines for the Nescafé Frothy Coffee instant beverage range.
Soluble coffee and coffee systems represented 68.3% of sales in the powdered and liquid beverages segment in 2025, contributing SFr17.17bn.
The company’s 2025 annual review pointed to coffee as the “largest” growth driver in the division, supported by the Nescafé, Nespresso and Starbucks brands. The segment also includes Milo, the chocolate malt beverage, and Nesquik.
