Nestlé is spending SFr563m ($697.6m) on building its own coffee production plant in Thailand after the end of a local joint venture.

Between 1990 and 2024, the Swiss giant worked with local group Quality Coffee Products (QCP) to manufacture Nescafé products in the country.

The contract ended in December 2024, with the break-up 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 the domestic market and neighbouring countries.

The factory will make various Nescafé products, spanning soluble coffee, ready-to-drink options and coffee blends, it said 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.

Nestlé 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's Asia, Oceania and Africa division 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.

The project adds to a run of coffee-related investments announced by Nestlé in the 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.

Nestlé said "soluble coffee and coffee systems" generated SFr17.17bn in sales in 2025.