Appointment to View: Behind the brand at Kraft's coffee HQ

It has been a busy time for Kraft's coffee division and during Marketing’s visit, Kenco marketing director Peter Seymour discussed the past and current marketing activities supporting its Kenco brand, which has looked to pinch market share from rival Nescafe.

Sales of Kenco have been helped by a novel recycling scheme, in which it teamed up with TerraCycle, the recycling charity, to encourage customers to form volunteer brigades to collect waste coffee refill packs.

This year, Kraft also lauched Kenco Millicano, a premium brand it hopes will rival Starbucks Via, and one it is expected  to support with significant marketing support next year.

The company has also looked to digital to aid its investment decisons and has created a tailored piece of software which it claims will help it understand where it can best place its marketing investment, where it might lose and where it might gain customers.

So far it has used the tool on its Milka and Macaroni & Cheese brand, as well as biscuit brand Lu and Trident, but could be rolled out to Kenco, one of its flagship brands.

During the visit, key executives Seymour, director of global brew systems Duncan Shearman and Chris Ransome, associate principal engineer pilot plant & facilities development, spoke to Marketing magazine.

After donning a lab coat, shoes and hair net, Marketing was also given an overview of the Kraft coffee tasting process with Alison Curry, senior scientist, consumer science.