Swiss coffee giant Nespresso (a division of Nescafe) sold about $4 billion worth of coffee in 2010, according to the Wall Street Journal. Most coffee is served in single portions as espresso or 'cafe creme...' The pot of coffee is rare, and less profitable. The WSJ article reports that while single-portion coffee makes up about 8% of all coffee produced, it brews into 25% of the sales.
Nespresso is in a dispute with discount store Denner, about the unique capsules that serve 'Nespresso'. Denner produced a compatible capsule for a lower price (12 for 4 CHF at Denner vs. 10 for 5 CHF for Nespresso). A court in St. Gallen ruled that Nespresso was in their rights to block sales of the coffee knock-off capsules sold by Denner. This ruling resulted in empty shelves at Denner and a promise to resolve the dispute.
