He was working for Nestle. They worked for 5 years but could not get results. He did not give up, he worked alone. Unfortunately, Nestle offended this altruistic food inventor. Invention story of Nescafe inside:
In 1930, the Brazilian government encouraged food and beverage companies to develop new methods of producing instant coffee, which was easily dissolved in water, in order to increase coffee sales, which were declining due to the economic crisis. Nestle, which was heavily affected by the 1929 Depression, wanted to overcome the crisis by developing new products in the coffee market. However, the R&D studies on instant coffee production, which he continued for 5 years, did not result in the desired results and was stopped in 1936. However, Max Morgenthaler, who is a big coffee lover and wholeheartedly believes in this project, was not willing to give up.
Nestle was born in 1867. Founded by Henri Nestle in Vevey, Switzerland, the company would eventually become one of the world's giants in the food and beverage industry. Farine Lactee, the company's first product to market, was the world's first milk-based infant formula. This product, consisting of milk, wheat flour and sugar, was developed for babies who could not be fed with breast milk and made a great contribution to the decrease in infant mortality rates. Thereupon, the company started using its logo, which means "bird's nest", on its products. In 1905, it merged with the Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company, Europe's first condensed milk company, and became what it is today's Nestle.
Henri Nestle (1814-1890)
In the early 1900s, cities in Europe were growing and international trade was developing rapidly. Thanks to the new technologies used in steamships and trains, access to goods and services became easier, and trade increased while commodity prices fell. Due to the mass migration to the cities, it became difficult to eat healthy and there was an increase in maternal and infant mortality. The interest in Farine Lactee products in the market enabled new players to enter the sector in a short time and increased the competition between companies. During this period, Nestle prioritized hiring new chemists and qualified personnel to increase production and sales. During the First World War, it reached a great power by meeting the canned food and milk needs of the armies.
Prior to the 1929 Depression, the company had succeeded in greatly increasing its product range and production capacity. Moreover, Nestle products in milk and cereal baby foods set general standards in the market and expanded the chocolate market. Work on concentrated milk brought great commercial success to Nestle with the development of milk chocolate varieties. However, as a result of the transition to the foreign partnership system for the growth of the company, sales activities were largely focused on foreign markets, especially the USA. As such, during the 1929 Depression, Nestle faced major financial problems.
Nestle and Instant Coffee R&D Studies
The year 1930 was a major turning point in Nestle's history. The Brazilian government of the time encouraged food and beverage companies to develop new methods of instant coffee production in order to increase their falling coffee sales. This incentive was a great opportunity for Nestle in this period when the 1929 Depression caused great contractions in the world markets, especially in the USA. The studies on instant coffee production methods since the early 1900s could not be concluded as desired. Since it was difficult to make coffee drinkable by processing coffee beans, both the price of coffee increased and its consumption decreased during the crisis.
Looking for a way out of the economic crisis, Nestle started R&D studies to examine all the methods tried so far for instant coffee production and to develop a new cooking method that does not spoil the natural taste of coffee. In 1901, Japanese chemist Satori Kato tested the methods used to produce instant tea on coffee and developed a type of instant coffee he called Sanka. However, the methods used in the production of Sanka coffees spoiled the natural taste of the coffee and made it much more bitter. Although the coffee beans dissolve easily in water, the flavor of the coffee was not pleasant.
Max Morgenthaler (1901-1980)
Established by Nestle under the leadership of Max Morgenthaler to develop instant coffee, the R&D team was aware that the methods used in Sanka coffees harmed the taste of the coffee. However, although the efforts to develop a better method continued for 5 years, they could not be concluded successfully. The future of the company during the crisis was tied to the success of this project. This is why the disappointment caused by not getting the desired result was so great. Thereupon, the company announced that it had terminated its work on instant coffee in 1936. However, Max Morgenthaler, who is a big coffee lover and wholeheartedly believes in this project, was not willing to give up.
Max Morgenthaler and the Invention of Nescafe
Max Morgenthaler, who continued his work on instant coffee after the disintegration of the R&D team, started to achieve the desired results after a few months. Morgenthaler, who studied chemistry at the University of Bern, was determined to continue these studies until he achieved successful results. In the method he found a short time later, filter coffee was dried by spray drying method. The brewed coffee was sprayed from the top of a heated tower, allowing the droplets to fall down into powder and dry. Since the fresh coffee turned into droplets in the hot air source and dried instantly, it did not lose its taste, and there was no deterioration in the natural taste of the coffee beans.
Developed by Max Morgenthaler, this method gave birth to a new brewing technique for coffee, the use of which dates back hundreds of years. As a matter of fact, Morgenthaler created a new instant coffee that dissolves much more easily than Sanka coffees. Moreover, it used special carbohydrate compounds to facilitate the dissolution of coffee in water, thereby increasing the flavor of the coffee. This new coffee, which is easily prepared by just adding hot water, was introduced to the market on April 1, 1938 as "powdered pure coffee extract". The Nescafe brand name used in the products was formed by combining the first three letters of the Nestle company name with the word "cafe".
The Rise of the Nescafe Brand
In the 1940s, Nestle introduced its products to large audiences through numerous newspaper advertisements and advertisements. The main rise of Nescafe is II. It took place after World War II.
Thanks to the spray drying method he developed, Max Morgenthaler made coffee preparation an "instant" task. Nescafes, which make coffee brewing faster and easier than ever before, not only increased the demand on the consumer side by reducing coffee prices, but also provided significant savings on the producer side. With this method, the formation of waste coffee during coffee production is prevented. Nescafe has also changed the way coffee is presented to the consumer. Until the 1960s, coffee products were only available in tin cans. In 1961, the first glass jar coffee was introduced in Japan by Nescafe. Glass jars began to be used in Europe in 1962, right after the huge sales success in Japan.
However, relations between Max Morgenthaler and Nestle have not been very positive. As a matter of fact, Nestle officially completed its R&D work on developing instant coffee in 1936. The rest of the work was done entirely by Max Morgenthaler and was borne by Morgenthaler. Thanks to the spray drying method developed by Morgenthaler, Nestle has reached a great power in the coffee market unexpectedly. As such, Morgenthaler's expectations from Nestle have increased over time. However, the company failed to meet these expectations. Retiring in 1955, Morgenthaler continued his work alone until 1980, when he died in Vevey, Switzerland.
Nescafe in the World Market
The 1970s were the years when Nescafe rapidly increased its product range and achieved great success in the world market. First introduced in 1965, Nescafe Gold was produced from freeze-dried instant coffee beans and offered a brand new coffee experience. After this success, products such as Espresso, Frappe, Cappuccino came. And all of these products have brought about significant changes in coffee consumption habits.