Nescafé hits €45/kg at Carrefour, sparking price outrage

Nescafé at €45 per kilo: Instant coffee prices skyrocket

The 200-gram jar of Nescafé has become an involuntary thermometer for food inflation. According to prices cited in the discussion, the kilo of Nestlé’s flagship product reaches €45 at Carrefour; at Mercadona, the same format stays at €8.50, both in regular and decaf versions. The gap between stores exceeds 30%, and consumers who don’t compare pay the difference. This figure is not anecdotal: instant coffee is the world’s second best-selling beverage after Coca-Cola, as noted in the thread, and its price impacts millions of households that use it daily.

Why coffee has become so expensive

The official explanation points to Brazil. Floods have caused an agricultural crisis in the main producer of arabica coffee, which is predominantly consumed in the West. The same country is the world’s leading orange juice producer, whose price has also doubled in a few years. The correlation between climate disasters and rising prices is becoming an uncomfortable pattern: each season, an event justifies a hike that isn’t later reversed.

Some argue the problem isn’t supply, but monetary policy. Massive money printing by central banks dilutes purchasing power, and coffee is just the most visible symptom. Others point directly to tax and regulatory burdens on companies, which pass costs onto the final price. The debate drifts into ideological territory, but the starting data is stubborn: the same product costs differently depending on where you buy it.

Alternatives already used by consumers

Whole bean coffee presents itself as an escape route. On Amazon, a kilo of beans hovers around €14, bringing the cost of 200 grams down to €2.80, a quarter of the instant coffee price. At Costco, Colombian coffee moves in the same range. The catch is logistical: it requires a grinder and a coffee maker, and doesn’t dissolve in milk. Those prioritizing convenience pay the premium; those prioritizing their wallet adapt.

Private label brands are another exit. Their price is a fraction of Nestlé’s, and their main function, jokingly speaking, is the same. But private labels are also rising: the differential narrows and the sense of refuge fades. In bars, café con leche is approaching €2, and the cheapest whole milk nears €1 per liter. The entire shopping basket gets more expensive from all sides.

Nescafé prices in other countries

International comparison debunks part of the narrative. In Japan, a similar jar costs €4, and the country has had expansive monetary policies for decades. In Moscow, a kilo of Nescafé can be found for €24 on Ozon, the Russian Amazon, and even cheaper in physical supermarkets. In Switzerland, the Coop chain sells it for CHF 44.20 per kilo, about €47, practically the same price as in Spain. Money printing alone doesn’t explain the difference.

The conclusion that emerges is less epic: the price of Nescafé isn’t set by the central bank, it’s set by Nestlé. And they set it high because they can. Consumer loyalty to instant coffee is so strong that the brand allows margins a generic product couldn’t sustain. As long as people keep buying it, the increase holds. The day the jar sits on the shelf, the price will drop. Until then, instant coffee will remain the silent luxury of Spanish kitchens.