Starbucks VIA Taste Challenge
Posted by Jim | October 1, 2009 | No Comments
Photo: (rae)sin
Starbucks rolled out its VIA Ready Brew instant coffee nationwide this week after limited testing in select markets. When I initially heard that Starbucks was moving into the instant category, I had serious concerns about the damage it might do to its reputation for offering affordable luxury to consumers. With a retail price of less than $1.00 per serving, VIA seems to simultaneously risk appearing both expensive, when compared to other instant coffees, and cheap, when compared to Starbucks’ own in-store java. A tough place to be, from a branding perspective.
Additionally, when most people think of instant coffee, high quality is not the first thing that comes to mind. But Starbucks has put considerable effort into developing VIA and claims that it tastes as good as its freshly brewed blends. Early evidence seems encouraging, as this youtube clip shows:
This weekend (October 2 – 5) you can see for yourself when you take the VIA Taste Challenge at participating Starbucks stores near you. They’ll even throw in a free tall coffee at your next visit.
I’m very interested to see what the quality is like. I’m also impressed with the job Starbucks has done to position VIA as an extension of its current brand. The convenience of the take-anywhere packaging opens up a number of new sales possibilities, from office workers to outdoors-types, in addition to allowing you to quickly make your own Starbucks at home. Starbucks is even asking customers to share recipe ideas using VIA. While instant coffee is very popular in Europe, it’s never really caught on in American. With VIA, Starbucks hopes to change that.
Have you taken the Starbucks VIA Taste Challenge? Can VIA win a place in the hearts of latte-loving Americans?
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