How Nespresso is using augmented reality to help fight climate change

Nespresso Gifts of the Forest
(Image credit: Nespresso)

Nespresso's brought a touch of AR to select stores around the world this holiday season. As part of the coffee machine maker's "Festive For Good" campaign, an AR experience called "Gifts of the Forest" lets customers to use their smartphones to enjoy a digital rainforest by scanning QR codes dotted around store windows. 

The brand behind some of the best coffee makers on the market has been celebrating the biodiversity of the rainforests that are so instrumental to coffee growth. However, this latest campaign also marks the start of Nespresso's collaboration with Conservation International, and subsequent pledge to protect 10 million trees in the Amazon

Through augmented reality, the Gifts of the Forest installation can bring a rainforest to life, as paper birds fly out from store windows and parrots nestle between trees while you browse the Nespresso machines on offer. Developed alongside German retail experts Liganova and Colombian fashion designer Johanna Ortiz, the experience also introduces the new Gifts of the Forest range of pod capsules. 

The intricate, paper-like artwork featured throughout the installation is also reflected in Nespresso's new pod range.

"Colombian coffee has a truly special place in my heart," Ortiz said. "And as an active supporter in the fight against climate change,  knowing that Nespresso is going beyond its agroforestry commitments, it was another huge reason why this collaboration made perfect sense."

Nespresso's AR experience will run until the end of January 2022, with the new Gifts of the Forest pod range available now. Flavors include Forest Black, Forest Fruits and Forest Almond.

If you're after a look at the competition, we're rounding up all the best Keurig coffee makers on the market. Or, take a look at the best espresso machines available now for more of a hands-on approach to your morning brew. 

Tabitha Baker

Tabs is a deals editor on our sister site TechRadar. She spends most of her time searching for the best prices on top consumer tech, but has also written about everything from flower delivery to mattresses. Happiest with a DualSense controller in her hand, she's also contributed to GamesRadar and T3 and specializes in gaming hardware and computing.