Nescafé was introduced by Nestlé in 1938 as a successful instant coffee brand.
Nestlé began researching instant coffee after Brazil sought a way to preserve surplus coffee production. The company assigned chemist Max Morgenthaler to develop a product that could be prepared quickly while retaining a convincing coffee flavor. Nestlé launched Nescafé in Switzerland on 1 April 1938.
The name combines “Nestlé” with “café,” the French word for coffee. Nescafé used spray-drying technology to turn brewed coffee into soluble granules or powder. Consumers could make a cup by adding hot water, avoiding the equipment and time needed for traditional brewing.
Instant coffee had been attempted before, so Nescafé was not literally the first instant coffee ever invented. Its historical importance is that it became the first widely successful mass-market instant coffee brand. The product expanded internationally and became particularly important to military supply during the Second World War.