JURA CEO: ‘coffee consumption has become a global phenomenon’
Series CEO spotlight,
Episode 17:
As CEO of the JURA coffee machine maker, Emanuel Probst has transformed the company from a Swiss business into a global one. He says that shift will continue.
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JURA CEO: ‘coffee consumption has become a global phenomenon’
Over the past three decades, JURA has evolved from a debt-ridden, multi-product company into one of the world’s leading brands of premium “bean-to-cup” fully automatic coffee machines, increasing its sales by a factor of more than ten.
Swissinfo met JURA’s long-standing CEO, Emanuel Probst, at the company’s headquarters in Niederbuchsiten, canton Solothurn. A strong supporter of globalisation, Probst says that the company’s future is to continue to expand internationally, including in the US.
Swissinfo: At a time of tariffs, a strong Swiss franc, and geopolitical instability, what are your main challenges and opportunities?
Emanuel Probst: Our biggest challenge is the growing threat to globalisation, including the new American import tariffs, because globalisation has been one of the best developments for the world over the past 30 years. It is also thanks to globalisation that a company like JURA has been able to become active in 50 countries. By contrast, protectionism reduces competitiveness, innovation and product quality while increasing costs. Ultimately, protectionism is detrimental to everyone.
As for our key opportunities, I would highlight our significant expansion potential in Europe and, even more so, in the US. The American market is currently the world’s second largest for fully-automatic coffee machines, yet it is only one-fifth the size of the German market for us. I am convinced that we can double or even quadruple our sales in America.
Swissinfo: What about the challenges posed by the strong Swiss franc?
E.P.: Naturally, the strong Swiss franc is a major challenge because many of our costs, such as salaries, are incurred in Switzerland. The appreciation of the franc inevitably leads to price increases for our products worldwide, even though we cannot adjust prices every month.
In 2025, we achieved growth of more than 10% in the US market in local currency terms. However, once converted into Swiss francs, that growth was entirely wiped out by the depreciation of the dollar.
The positive side is that the strong franc keeps us sharp. It forces us to focus in Switzerland on what we do best, such as research and innovation.
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Swissinfo: Is most of your cost base denominated in Swiss francs, given that your headquarters, research and development (R&D), and production are based in Switzerland?
E.P.: A significant portion of our costs is in Swiss francs, but the majority is actually is in euros. We also incur substantial costs in US dollars because of our presence in the US and our partner electronics factory in Malaysia.
We invest heavily in foreign markets to develop our retail footprint – currently we have 5,000 points of sale across 50 countries – as well as our service infrastructure, which today comprises 35 service facilities in 35 countries, including four large so-called “service factories”. The main aim of these investments is to serve local markets better rather than to reduce our dependence on the Swiss franc. For example, this autumn we will open a large service factory in Germany with an investment of around €45 million (CHF42 million). We are also building a comparable service factory in Pennsylvania in the US.
Swissinfo: How are you affected by current conflicts, for example in the Middle East?
E.P.: We are not particularly dependent on energy prices, except when it comes to the transportation of our products. Today, freight charges for shipping containers of our machines to the US are between two and four times higher than they were just a few months ago. These higher transportation costs are a challenge, but they affect all competitors equally.
Fortunately, despite geopolitical tensions, we still have access to all our key markets, including Germany, the US, Poland, the Netherlands, France, Austria and Switzerland, while the Middle East remains largely irrelevant for the coffee machine market.
Swissinfo: Many people associate JURA with your long-standing partnership with tennis player Roger Federer. What qualities made him such a good fit for the company?
E.P.: We have been working with Roger since 2006 because our clients care about two things: attractive products and, most importantly, trust in our brand. Roger brings tremendous value in this respect because he is regarded as one of the most trusted people in the world. That has nothing to do with tennis, but rather with his personality, the way he conducts his life and the importance he places on his family. When you speak to him, his eyes do not wander – he is fully focused on you. That is what makes him such a strong personality and such a trusted role model.
Another important factor is that Roger is recognised worldwide. We can place an advertisement featuring him in an American newspaper or anywhere else in the world, and people will immediately recognise him. He is also at an ideal stage of life because he appeals to both younger and older generations. Very few personalities have that kind of universal appeal.
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Swissinfo: Your distribution model relies on external retailers as well as your own flagship stores. Is there any potential conflict between the two?
E.P.: Our flagship stores – and our website – are designed to be trailblazing and complementary to our retail network, thereby avoiding conflicts of channel. It is also common for clients to make their purchase decision in a physical shop but then buy through the same retailer’s website in order to avoid transporting the product themselves.
Swissinfo: Beyond Europe and the US, where do you see the greatest opportunities for profitable growth? Can Asian consumers be persuaded to drink more coffee?
E.P.: We do not have to persuade anybody. Coffee consumption has become a global phenomenon. Even in China, there are many rapidly growing coffee chains competing with Starbucks.
But first things first: our current priority is to keep consolidating our position in the US and Europe – with the exception of Switzerland, which remains an excellent but saturated market. When I took over the company, Switzerland accounted for 92% of sales. Today that figure is just 6%, and it will continue to decline.
Swissinfo: In many industries, most profits come not from selling new machines but from after-sales services. Is that also true in your sector?
E.P.: I cannot speak for the industry as a whole, but at JURA we generate our profits primarily through the sale of new coffee machines. Naturally, after-sales service is extremely important because we want our clients to remain proud owners of our products for many years. That is why we are making these major investments in our service infrastructure and why we have developed care kits to address issues such as limescale. In fact, our machines have an average lifespan of nine years, compared to an industry average of around six years.
Swissinfo: In 1991, you decided to focus entirely on premium fully automatic coffee machines and discontinued all other products. Today, would you consider expanding your product range?
E.P.: Not at all. Looking at the entire value chain – from suppliers and research to external manufacturing, points of sale and service infrastructure – everything has to be perfectly balanced and coordinated. That is how quality is achieved. And I know nobody on earth who can deliver true quality while producing 1,000 different products.
Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric, used to say that General Electric was too small to be active in more than six business units. By analogy, at JURA, given our size, we can do only one product really well, even though we have, together with our partners, around 150 engineers and 102 fully automated testing stations.
Of course, it would be easy to add additional product lines and generate more revenue, but it would come at the expense of quality.
Swissinfo: JURA machines are manufactured by your partners in Portugal. How challenging is it to have R&D and production in different locations?
E.P.: All our machines are produced in Switzerland and Portugal by Eugster/Frismag, our long-term Swiss manufacturing partner. Our internal and external R&D teams are based in Switzerland, close to the production sites, and Portugal is geographically not far away. If our production facilities were located in Asia, it would not be possible to keep all our R&D activities in Switzerland. Naturally, our R&D teams also learn a great deal from feedback gathered by our service centres.
Swissinfo: Do you believe Switzerland-trained R&D employees have an advantage over their counterparts in countries such as China or the US?
E.P.: I believe Switzerland has a real advantage because our education system combines top-level academic institutions – such as the federal technology institute ETH Zurich and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) – with more practical pathways, including universities of applied sciences – “Fachhochschule” – and apprenticeships. These different educational backgrounds help drive innovation.
Swissinfo: You have been CEO since 1991. What are the advantages – and possible drawbacks – of such long-term leadership?
E.P.: When I took over at JURA more than 30 years ago, the company had significant bank debt and was not profitable. It took us a long time to become successful, thanks to a consistent, tenacious and patient strategy – without constant changes of direction and without being frightened by every passing trend.
For me, remaining physically fit after so many years in the role depends on maintaining permanent curiosity because curiosity drives continuous and gradual innovation. It is also essential for me to remain closely connected to both the market and the products.
To remain successful, it is also crucial to adhere to a number of core strategic principles. For example, innovation efforts should be focused on fast-growing markets rather than shrinking ones. Another important principle is to remain within a single market segment. In our case, we chose the premium segment rather than pursuing a cost-leadership strategy or offering the lowest price in the industry.
Swissinfo: Unless it is a corporate secret, can you disclose how many cups of coffee you drink per day?
E.P.: Usually three cups a day. One in the morning before leaving home, a second when I arrive at the office, and a third after lunch.
Edited by Virginie Mangin/dos
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