{"id":102,"date":"2026-03-19T11:17:45","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T11:17:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/growththroughcontent.com\/?p=102"},"modified":"2026-03-19T11:17:47","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T11:17:47","slug":"the-product-description-secrets-that-sold-220-million-of-coffee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/growththroughcontent.com\/?p=102","title":{"rendered":"The Product Description Secrets That Sold \u00a3220 Million of Coffee"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I think we can all agree. Starbucks changed the coffee business forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And at one point it seemed like everyone was walking around with a Starbucks coffee cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But one business decided to focus on creating a luxury coffee experience in the home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And in this copywriting example, I am going to break down the product description and pricing secrets that allowed Nespresso to sell over \u00a3220 Million of coffee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ready?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let’s dive in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Changing Your Unit Will Change Your Bottom Line<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Starbucks sells cups of coffee, whereas you drink coffee at home by taking the granules out of a jar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This unit of measure places Starbucks into a league of their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suddenly this meant that Starbucks was able to charge a high price for their drinks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And people paid because they had nothing to compare them to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And soon enough, walking around with your Starbucks Coffee cup became a sign of increased status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, either going to and sitting in a Starbucks or just picking up your coffee to take it away altered the status of the individual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“People like me drink Starbucks.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, how does a coffee company compete if they sell coffee by the jar?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The answer is to change the unit measure that you sell your coffee in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that’s what Nespresso did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They started selling coffee for home or office consumption by the glass, and this changed the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coffee Pods Not Granules<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Nespresso was created around selling pods of coffee and not granules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was a game-changer for them because it allowed them to compete on price per cup and be seen as better value when compared to drinking a Starbucks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A pack of 150 Nespresso Capsules and display box costs \u00a358.50<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Nespresso isn’t trying to go against a jar of coffee granules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are challenging the likes of Costa Coffee and Starbucks, where you could be paying up to \u00a33.75 for a coffee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you compare the prices, it changes the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

150 Cups of Nespresso = \u00a358.50<\/p>\n\n\n\n

150 Cups of Starbucks = \u00a3562.50<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, how to do words make the customer compare Nespresso with Starbucks?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is where product descriptions come in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Product Descriptions That Entice Consumption <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Great product design is essential because it is the packaging and box that will always catch our attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But once a consumer picks up a box or watches an advert, they will need to read the description of the product so that they can make their mind up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is at this point that the reader mentally places the product into a category of which they will compare the goods against others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And this is where product descriptions come in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well-written product descriptions will completely change the way a product is perceived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, in 2005, a team of scientists conducted an experiment around restaurant menus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over 6 weeks, they renamed numerous items on the menu such as ‘seafood fillet’ became ‘Succulent Italian Seafood Fillet’ and ‘Chocolate Pudding’ became ‘Satin Chocolate Pudding’ and so on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The result was that these more detailed descriptions boosted both the perception of taste of the food by 7% and the appeal of the food by 13%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, what did Nespresso do for their product descriptions?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let’s take a look and compare it with Starbucks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nespresso<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

(Click the image to enlarge the copy)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Starbucks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As we can see, Nespresso uses in-depth product descriptions to reflect the quality of the product because it is competing with the vast Starbucks brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it is this depth of description that sends out what is known as ‘costly signalling’.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This unconscious signal that screams at the reader “a lot of effort went into this”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And yes, because effort usually means quality, this signals to the customer that your product is likely to be good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This costly signalling is especially important when selling online or in a store if your brand, product or service is less known.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key Learning Points You Can Use<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If we break down what we have discovered so far:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Nespresso altered it’s unit size to compete with more expensive coffee shops such as Starbucks.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Compared to Starbucks, Nespresso seems excellent value.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Nespresso uses in-depth, lengthy products descriptions to deploy ‘costly signalling’.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    OK, all this is good, but I am guessing you don’t sell coffee, so how can you use this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Well, there are 2 ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. Alter Your Description<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    The description of your business, your products or your services are how people categorise and compare you with others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    So, the first thing to do is to increase the standard of your product description or alter how you describe your products or business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    No one is saying you need to waffle, but a quality description should show the reader that effort and thought have gone into the making of the service or the product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Here are some factors you might consider using in your descriptions:Reputation or standing of the manufacturer\/ business.Quality of materials or design.Speed of delivery.Design or material of the container.Achievements of the product (tests, use, etc.).Well known users\/ customers (do influencers use it?).Testimonials.Expert testimonials\/ evidence.Awards won.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    2. Change The Comparison<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Does everyone charge by the hour in your industry? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If so, start charging by the outcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Do your competitors offer just one price package?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Then offer 2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Do you have just one standard of product or service?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Then add a high-value product or service to what you offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    By changing your offerings either against what you or your competitors offer or what the industry standard is, gives your prospects something to compare you against.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    And this means you can stand out and NOT compete on price with others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Conclusion <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    So, there you have it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    A break down of how Nespresso use product descriptions to boost sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    With this copywriting example, you can extract plenty of things to test on your own business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    And because messaging is always the easiest thing to test, let me know what results you have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Thanks for reading<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Andrew Holland<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    I think we can all agree. Starbucks changed the coffee business forever. And at one point it seemed like everyone was walking around with a Starbucks coffee cup. But one business decided to focus on creating a luxury coffee experience in the home. And in this copywriting example, I am going to break down the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":103,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","tve_updated_post":"","tve_custom_css":"","tve_user_custom_css":"","tve_globals":{},"tcb2_ready":0,"tcb_editor_enabled":0,"tve_landing_page":"","_tve_header":"","_tve_footer":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-writing","post-wrapper","thrv_wrapper"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/growththroughcontent.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/growththroughcontent.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/growththroughcontent.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/growththroughcontent.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/growththroughcontent.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=102"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/growththroughcontent.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":105,"href":"https:\/\/growththroughcontent.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102\/revisions\/105"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/growththroughcontent.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/growththroughcontent.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/growththroughcontent.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/growththroughcontent.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}