Migros launches a unique coffee pod process without capsules under the Café Royal brand.In Switzerland and France initially.The process avoids any waste.Every year, the world produces 63 billion coffee capsules.They generate 100,000 tons of waste, the equivalent of 10 times the Eiffel Tower."These are so many huge mountains of plastic and aluminum that end up in the trash," says Fabrice Zumbrunnen, the boss of the Migros distribution chain.We wanted to get out of this system and revolutionize the portioned coffee market”.The Swiss supermarket giant says it has invested "millions" to develop a very innovative process that is now multi-patented.It took five years of research.A machine and its pods without capsules.The coffee comes in the form of compressed coffee balls coated with a fine vegetable layer of alginate, which can be deposited after use in a planter or in a composter.Thus, "we avoid the industrial recycling sector", explains the boss of Migros.These ecological pods are marketed in cardboard boxes of 9 at a price of 3.69 euros for the organic version and 3.49 euros for the others.They are produced in a village near Basel, in the Birsfelden factory.The machine is made in China and sold at a price of 179 euros.Coffee: the advent of bean-to-cup espresso machinesThe launch, first carried out in all Migros supermarkets in Switzerland and on the internet, is also taking place in France, a market deemed strategic by the group.The machines will be offered at Boulanger, Darty and specialized supermarkets.The pods will be sold at Carrefour, Auchan and Leclerc from September 20.Further launches are planned in Europe, starting with Germany in 2023. Migros' goal is to eventually sell across the European Union.Migros is not taking its first steps in coffee.It has been selling machines and pods through its subsidiary Delica since 2004. Its Café Royal brand has a turnover of 30 million euros and a market share of around 5% with its aluminum capsule in supermarkets. .That of Migros, which employs 98,000 people, reached 28.9 billion euros in 2021.All rights reserved - Les Echos 2022