Sunday 15 June 2025

International Delight launches new campaign to explain why they “hate plain coffee”

The brand set up an unbranded pop-up social experiment – the "Simply Coffee Café" – disguised as a coffee shop to capture real consumer reactions to offers of free coffee, with one catch: No Creamer. No Foam. No Flavor -- no matter what they order

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LOUISVILLE, Colo., USA – International Delight knows there’s a lot of love for the perfect cup of coffee. In fact, consumers are self-proclaimed coffee lovers. According to the National Coffee Association¹, two-thirds (67%) of U.S. adults drink coffee every day, which is more than any other beverage, including water. As one of the leading coffee creamer brands on the forefront of unique, culture-driven collaborations, International Delight recently set out to test if people actually enjoy coffee like they claim.

The brand set up an unbranded pop-up social experiment – the “Simply Coffee Café” – disguised as a coffee shop to capture real consumer reactions to offers of free coffee, with one catch: No Creamer. No Foam. No Flavor — no matter what they order. What the brand uncovered was much to its delight.

The experiment shines a light on what people truly love about their coffee: flavorful creamer – and the disappointment they experience when it’s absent. Through the hidden camera experiment, International Delight heard it straight from coffee drinkers’ mouths: they hate plain coffee. As a brand proudly offering flavorful creamers, iced coffees and cold foams that add delight to every cup, International Delight gets it, and proudly proclaims: “We Hate Plain Coffee, Too.”

International Delight understands that habits of coffee and creamer fans are constantly changing, and as a brand who stays ‘one cup ahead’ with its flavors and experiences, it continues to innovate for the ever-evolving lifestyles of coffee drinkers. Equipped with real consumer insights from its pop-up social experiment, International Delight is introducing its newest campaign: “We Hate Plain Coffee, Too.”

The campaign is based on the consumer truth that coffee lovers are actually creamer lovers, and creamer lovers choose International Delight because of its unique variety of flavors and experiences that make plain coffee, delicious coffee. In fact, in recent years there’s been a rapid decline (56%) in the amount of people who prefer to drink their coffee black². Notably, 79% of Gen Z coffee drinkers also choose creamed coffee over plain coffee³.

“Creamer lovers believe that plain coffee sucks, and we couldn’t agree more,” said Olivia Sanchez, Senior Vice President of Creamers for Danone North America. “Creamer fans, or as we know them, Creamer Nation, not only reach for International Delight to add delicious flavor to their cup of coffee, but they choose International Delight because we bring joy to every cup through our flavors like French Vanilla, Caramel Macchiato, or even Hot Chocolate Marshmallow from the nostalgic holiday classic Home Alone. Without creamer, ‘coffee lovers’ don’t exist.”

The new “We Hate Plain Coffee, Too” campaign features a suite of assets, including three hero :30 spots, three :15 spots, and three :06 spots that will air across digital video, OLV, social and retail media channels. The campaign was produced in partnership with the brand’s creative agency of record, FCB Chicago.

1 Spring 2024 National Coffee Trends Data Report
2 Drive Research, 2024
3 Statista, Business Insider

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