Storm brewing! Nestlé goes full bean ahead in Thai coffee clash
Swiss food giant Nestlé is stirring the pot in Thailand’s coffee scene, vowing to go head-to-head with the powerful Mahagitsiri clan as it brews plans for its own production plant, all while riding out a bitter legal spat.
Nestlé is digging in its heels amid a fiery legal feud with the Mahagitsiri family, pushing ahead with ambitions to establish its own coffee production facility in Thailand, a senior company insider has revealed.
“We are committed to investing in Thailand and have plans to set up our coffee production here. More information will be shared soon.”
The caffeine-fuelled clash boiled over earlier this month when Nestlé was forced to pause Nescafé distribution for a week. The Min Buri Civil Court issued a surprise injunction on April 3, banning the company from manufacturing, outsourcing, distributing, or importing instant coffee under the Nescafé name.
But Nestlé quickly bounced back. The Central Intellectual Property and International Trade Court ruled in favour of the Swiss firm, reaffirming its exclusive rights to the Nescafé trademark in Thailand, allowing the brand to resume operations.
Nescafé is now pouring both imported and locally produced brews into the Thai market, sourcing products from Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Though Nestlé kept tight-lipped on the names of its local partners, a market probe by the Bangkok Post fingered Benjaphanpong, Toyo Seikan (Thailand), and Quality Coffee Products Ltd (QCP) as current or former producers.
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QCP’s operations came to a grinding halt after the joint venture and licensing deals were terminated on 31 December 2024. Nestlé responded by filing a liquidation case against QCP with the Bangkok South Civil Court on 14 March this year – the matter is still under review.
Nestlé insists it has played by the rules throughout.
“We will fight to the end,” the source declared, referring to the ongoing legal scrap with the Mahagitsiris, who hold a stake in QCP.
She added that any further disruptions to Nescafé’s Thai operations would ripple across the entire supply chain, affecting a range of stakeholders.
The Min Buri Civil Court is set to hold a hearing on June 20 to determine its jurisdiction and consider Nestlé’s push to have the injunction scrapped, Bangkok Post reported.
The backdrop to this legal brew-up is a struggling domestic coffee sector. Thailand’s robusta bean output has plunged from over 17,000 tonnes in 2015 to just 5,900 tonnes in 2024, with more than half typically snapped up by Nescafé, according to the Office of Agricultural Economics.
Meanwhile, NielsenIQ pegged the value of Thailand’s instant coffee market, including pure soluble and 3-in-1 blends, at a staggering 23 billion baht between April 2024 and March 2025. Nestlé continues to dominate the 3-in-1 segment.
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