Nescafe Sunrise Instafilter

Capturing the South Indian Coffee Ritual

2017

Industrial Design

About

Nestle wanted to increase awareness of their Nescafe Sunrise Insta-filter variety of instant coffee. Primarily marketed to South Indian customers, Insta-filter promises the taste of traditional filter coffee, with the convenience of instant coffee.

The goal was to create a range of POS solutions that stand out from regular instant coffee packs, while also incorporating cues of the coffee making ritual, including the roasting and grinding of the beans, the filtering of the decoction and the serving of the coffee.

Design Process

The designed started with a study of the coffee ritual, to understand the tools, the implements and the customers. Coffee is taken very seriously in South India, and most drinkers have a strong preference for freshly ground filter coffee, as opposed to the instant variety. The coffee is made in steel filters, and served in steel tumblers.

The typical South Indian super market tends to have narrow aisles and crowded shelves, with Insta-filter being sold alongside other instant coffees, such as regular versions of Nescafe. The only way to stand out, was to bring in cues of the coffee ritual, and bring in warmth and traditional through material cues.

Design Routes

The design routes used brass material (either material or print texture), to bring in some degree of warmth and work well with the existing packaging.

Sachet Dispenser: A simple sachet dispenser inspired by the coffee filter itself.

Tin Dispenser: Inspired by brass trunks.

Tin Stand: A smaller stand to be used as an impulse purchase display on the checkout counter

Shelf Units: Full Height sachet and tin dispensers, intended to stand out from the rest of the instant coffee section. The design of these was inspired by the coffee bean dispensers usually seen in coffee shops; replicated here through a graphic pattern.