As evidenced by its NESCAFÉ Plan, Nestlé viewed sustainability differently from certifications such as
Fairtrade. The company believed that it could better enhance sustainability by working closely with
individual farmers, rather than guaranteeing a minimum price for their output. The company’s grassroots
interaction with farmers involved supplying seedlings, providing technical assistance, diversifying the
coffee farmers’ sources of income through changes in cropping patterns and building schools in coffeeproducing
communities.
Consumers, however, seemed to prefer Fairtrade-certified coffee, and were willing to pay a premium for
it, even in China. An independent survey conducted in Wuhan, one of China’s 10 most populous cities,
had shown that, on average, in a coffee shop, consumers were willing to pay 22 per cent more for a cup of
Fairtrade coffee, compared with traditional coffee. The willingness to pay a premium for Fairtrade coffee
was higher among three segments: female consumers, consumers who made their own coffee and
consumers who planned to increase their coffee consumption in the following year.27