Retail One kiosks put Nestlé’ Professional’s growth recipe to test

Hospital food has been a subject for many a joke, whether the meal is served to patients, caregivers or visitors. However, new-age hospitals are changing that by setting up Nestlé Retail One kiosks in their premises.

After all, the way Indians consume food outside their homes is changing fast, and why should these establishments, or even schools and corporate parks be left behind? A Swiggy–Bain report estimates the country’s foodservices market could touch INR 10 lakh crore by 2030, driven by younger consumers, urban mobility, and the rise of new dining formats.

For Nestlé Professional—the B2B arm of Nestlé that supplies to restaurants, cafés, QSRs, and retailers—this shift is both a challenge and an opening. The company is building its bets on a sprawling network of Retail One kiosks, data analytics, chef partnerships, and sustainability-led innovation to stay relevant in a sector where footfall patterns and consumer tastes can pivot in months.

Saurabh Makhija, director of Nestlé Professional and Nestlé India.

“We’ve built Retail One on a simple principle—follow the consumer wherever they are,” Saurabh Makhija, director of Nestlé Professional and Nestlé India told Campaign. “Our kiosks are strategically located in spaces like educational institutions, healthcare hubs, and transit points which witness heavy footfall. As a result, along with driving transactions they also serve as living brand touchpoints.”

That philosophy has seen Retail One grow to 1,000 kiosks nationwide in July 2025. These units—operating under formats such as Nescafé Corners, Maggi Hotspots and KitKat Break Zones—generate an annual footfall of roughly 20 million. They also serve as testing grounds for recipes, limited-time launches, and brand activations, helping Nestlé Professional blend distribution with consumer engagement.

Data-led siting and technology backbone

Location decisions for the kiosks are data-driven, informed by traffic flows in education clusters, hospital campuses and travel nodes. The company’s internal tech platforms also extend beyond siting.

“Our in-house digital tool tracks the productivity and efficiency of our culinary workforce, provides insights from demos, and helps chefs plan and optimise their demo schedules,” Makhija explained. “For Retail One, we have developed an internal compliance governance app to ensure consistency and operational discipline across touchpoints. In addition, our tech-enabled vending machines can capture real-time demo, installation, and service feedback through a QR code.”

Nestlé Professional is also leaning on analytics tools such as RACE to anticipate consumption trends and personalise solutions for foodservice partners. By mapping online chatter, it says it spotted Vietnamese Coffee and Tres Leches as emerging trends early, enabling it to tailor café menus before competitors.

Social listening and global trend mapping are now part of its marketing armoury. The underlying bet is that if operators can bring trend-aligned items to consumers faster, both sales and brand recall will follow.

Together, these layers allow Nestlé Professional to monitor execution closely and draw sharper insights about what works in the field. The kiosks double up as micro-marketing labs where campaigns can be tested in real-time against consumer reactions. After all, what better place for the company test if matcha latte indeed has any takers, before it decides to roll out the product?

When marketing meets the kitchen

However, technology alone doesn’t sell food. The crucial link is whether brand campaigns convince chefs and operators to take the risk of placing new products on menus.

For Hemant Gaba, who operates 40 Retail One kiosks across North and West India, the connection is clear. “New product launches, backed by strong digital campaigns, play a big role in attracting the new-age crowd, especially in the education channel where trends move fast,” he said.

For instance, he recalled that when Maggi Korean Noodles was launched, the buzz created by Nestlé’s campaigns translated directly into higher consumer demand at his stores. “That kind of synergy between product innovation and marketing push helps us not only expand our menu but also stay relevant to evolving consumer tastes,” Gaba added.

Shamsul Wahid, group executive chef at Impresario Entertainment & Hospitality

Corporate chefs echo similar views. Shamsul Wahid, group executive chef at Impresario Entertainment & Hospitality, has used Nestlé Professional products across multiple outlets.

“We have had multiple associations with Nestlé over the past year. Nestlé Professional’s marketing campaigns and activations strongly influence my confidence in using their products. The brand’s trust and quality promise reassures me that when I put a Nestlé product on my menu, consumers will respond positively” he stated with confidence.

Just as important, Wahid claimed that the excitement created around new launches whether it’s the Maggi Korean Noodles, the KitKat dessert range, or the plant-based mince, helps attract trend-seeking consumers who are always looking for something new. For both operators and chefs, the risk of introducing new items is softened by the momentum generated through Nestlé’s campaigns.

Balancing affordability with premiumisation

With inflation and commodity volatility pressuring operators, pricing has become a sticking point. Nestlé Professional is positioning itself across tiers, from premix-based vending coffees to bean-to-cup machines.

“Affordability and premiumization are not trade-offs. For us they are dual priorities,” Makhija said.

He added that its vending portfolio caters to every operator wallet—from premix-based coffees that are affordable and scalable, to bean-to-cup platforms that deliver a premium café-like experience. In times of commodity headwinds, it consistently focuses on supplier and procurement efficiencies, operational efficiency through scale and cost control, and smarter trade spends. “This disciplined approach ensures we can manage affordability without diluting brand equity or consumer trust,” Makhija claimed.

For operators such as Gaba, affordability plays out not only in cost control but in how campaigns drive volumes. On-ground sampling activities in institutes and other high-footfall areas have been extremely valuable in driving trial and increasing purchase frequency at his outlets.

H also added, “Beyond sampling, what we value most is when Nestlé supports us with customised activations that link their brand story to our store experience—whether it’s limited-time menu applications, festive specials, or campaigns that tie into trending consumer occasions.”

Partnerships with foodservice operators

Nestlé Professional has also turned to co-branded collaborations with QSR and café chains to deepen penetration. Over the past two years, it has tied up with Burger King, McDonald’s, Chai Point, Mad Over Donuts and Pizza Hut. These alliances have taken the form of desserts, beverages and menu twists anchored on Nestlé ingredients.

For instance, Mad Over Donuts has six Kit-Kat-based donut variants, which are very popular amongst its target Gen Z audience. Mumbai-based collegian Shreyas Puranik said, “The KitKat donuts and Kunafa donuts are my favourite from this brand and I end up re-ordering them, instead of trying anything else.”

 

 

 

 

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Makhija described them as vehicles to “blend brand strengths to create differentiated consumer experiences out of home. Whether it’s sundaes, shakes, or donuts with a Nestlé Professional twist, these innovations have unlocked incremental sales, repeat trials, and stronger brand penetration.”

The aim is to extend the consumer journey across occasions. A product sampled in a QSR can be replicated in a café or even recreated at home through Nestlé’s retail range. From a marketing standpoint, such tie-ups serve as high-visibility platforms while providing proof of concept for menu innovations.

Health, sustainability and evolving menus

As consumer demand shifts toward healthier, locally sourced and lower-processed options, Nestlé Professional has been forced to rethink product development. Hence, it is embedding sustainability and nutrition at the source

Makhija revealed that its green coffee is responsibly sourced from certified farms in South India, with a strong focus on transparency and traceability. The company also works to secure a long-term supply of quality coffee by making farming more viable for current and future generations while reducing its environmental footprint.

The company claims its measures include farmer livelihood support, water efficiency, soil health, and biodiversity conservation. On the equipment side, vending machines are being designed with recycled plastics and energy-saving features. Whether these moves will meet the expectations of younger consumers—who increasingly scrutinise sourcing, processing and ingredients on the pack—remains to be tested at scale.

Where growth is expected

According to Makhija, growth is coming from both traditional and emerging channels. “Our Beverage Vending Solutions business has been fuelled by the rise of office and GCC (Global Capability Centre) ecosystem. While our core channels—HORECA, full-service restaurants, travel, and education—remain key drivers for our food business, we are also unlocking newer demand spaces and tapping into emerging consumption trends,” he said.

Examples include Maggi Coconut Milk Powder for coastal cuisine, Milkmaid and KitKat Spread for bakery innovations, and soluble coffee powering beverages such as Vietnamese coffee and Spanish latte in café chains. These point to a portfolio stretching from mass to premium and from traditional Indian menus to globalised café culture.

From the retailer’s perspective, marketing programmes must do more than drive visibility. They need to translate into repeat business and loyalty.

Gaba’s verdict is clear: customised activations tied to consumer occasions, coupled with digital amplification, have the greatest effect. They extend dwell time, spike trials, and embed associations between Nestlé’s brands and consumer rituals.

India’s foodservices market is fragmented, competitive and vulnerable to swings in cost and demand. Nestlé Professional is betting that a combination of kiosks, data tools, chef partnerships and sustainability cues will help it capture growth. But as chefs and operators make clear, trust in the brand alone is not enough. Campaigns, activations and tangible support at the point of sale are what tilt the scales in favour of Nestlé products.

For Nestlé India, the wager is larger than immediate sales. Retail One kiosks and co-branded tie-ups are also platforms for brand building—extensions of Nestlé’s consumer marketing ecosystem into the out-of-home world. If they can balance affordability with premium appeal, and global trends with local taste, the company stands to carve a stronger position in a market moving at high velocity.

What remains to be seen is whether these strategies can keep pace with consumers who expect constant novelty but are increasingly demanding healthier, more sustainable, and more affordable options. For operators and chefs, the calculation is pragmatic: they will stock what sells. For Nestlé Professional, the test is whether its marketing muscle can keep them convinced that its products will do just that.