Swiss branches of Media-Markt and Saturn have stopped selling coffee capsules designed to work with Nespresso machines.
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The move comes after Vaud’s cantonal court prohibited the sale of the capsules on Friday. Media Saturn, which is a German company, removed the capsules from the shelves of its 23 Swiss stores on Saturday.
The capsules in question are produced by the Fribourg-based Ethical Coffee Company (ECC) and they are cheaper than the Nespresso version. Swiss food giant Nestlé, the creator of the Nespresso machine, has been fighting an ongoing legal battle with rival brands.
ECC founder Jean-Paul Gaillard was the head of Nespresso in the 1990s.
Although Media Saturn has stopped selling the capsules for now, it announced in a statement that it believed their sale was lawful, and that it would take the necessary steps to offer them to customers again.
Swiss discount chain Denner has also tangled with Nestlé regarding the sale of alternative coffee capsules. The Swiss federal court ordered it to stop selling its version in June.
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