Nestlé Marketplace, an interactive online social commerce platform, has launched today in Germany.

This is the first social commerce platform of its kind in Germany from a food and beverage manufacturer of Nestlé’s size and range.

It will allow consumers to buy, rate, comment and ask question about each product available, as well as being able to submit ideas for new products of packaging.

Gerhard Berssenbrügge, CEO of Nestlé Germany, said: “We are encouraging two-way communication with consumers; allowing them to tell us what they like, but also what they think we could improve.

“We want to be inspired by people’s ideas and to enable them to take an active part in helping us shape not only the future of the Nestlé Marketplace, but also of our products.

“Every fourth person in Germany makes food purchases on the Internet, while around 1.5 billion Google searches here relate to the food sector.

“By the end of this year, online sales of food and beverages in Germany are expected to exceed EUR 500 million, so it is clearly an important area where we have a real opportunity to engage with consumers.”

Visitors to the Nestlé Marketplace can search for products using a variety of detailed criteria including taste, packaging, colour, specific occasion or diet.

The site currently features a selection of different shopping ‘stalls’, which also incorporate consumer ideas and feedback.