Starbucks Coffee

Here in Ireland, fresh ground coffee really is not done. People drink tea and instant coffee. My parents have a professional espresso machine, yet still opt to make instant coffee from freeze dried or powder. My office only has freeze dried. It's how it's done over here. This is a perfect market for this new product (isn't it called via or something?). My guess is we might get it by 2012, if we're lucky.

Good luck, and can't wait to try it!  Now if you can just take care of that Gold card problem (being a worse deal than normal registered cards for drip coffee), we'll be all set!!

Does seem like a better product for UK and Ireland then the US (cant say I remember seeing it in Australia or Singapore last year though). When I go over to my UK office they too dont brew fresh coffee; they make Instant. I drink Tea while in the UK unless I can find a Starbucks or someone else brewing BUT everyone in the office loves their instant so must be a cultural thing (another differnce of the left and right side of the pond). Though I dont understand it, I wont knock it cause people in office swear by it :).

Barista to Customer: I'm sorry corporate says we can't make "bold" anymore, but if you wait one second I can have your coffee in an "instant"! LMAO

Someone, please make sure Howard gets some help!

And we thought the roar of laughter was loud when they announced "breakfast parings". I'm deaf now!

mguiste

Is it instant Pike Place?  Was it taste tested like the new Soy milk? (just giving you a hard time ;-).  Sound like an interesting product, though not for me. Introduce K-cups, then you'll have my attention.

sounds great! can't wait to try it and take camping...very flexible product.   way to go!

UrbanVoy, what are K-cups?

HELLO MGUISTE!

What an exciting news!  I cannot wait to try and see how it tastes.  Hope it tastes like a real thing!  If so, I think it's a great potential to go very far!

Only one question, how do you guys do it?  I know it's a secret, but can you be able to declare that this product is 100% natural without going through some funny chemistry process?  

Why did it took 20 years to develop it?  WOW... that's a long time!  But Congratulation!

On the rare occasion when I've had instant coffee in EUROPE, it was quite good.  It was dark roast - more like Summatra than Pike!  On the other hand, instant coffee in the U.S. seems to usually made from mediocre beans and not roasted adequately.  

So if you offer a high quality dark roast instant coffee in the United States, it would be a shock to the market and might be a big hit.

My gut tells me that you have taken Pike and turned it into an instant.  I hope I'm wrong.  Pike is horrible even when fresh.  

If you do a true dark roast instant, I think it could work out well.  

Otherwise, like Pike, it will be another major dent in your former image as a high quality vendor

Art

I'm worried for you guys... I think instant coffee diminishes your brand. I feel like it will hurt you in the eyes of your consumer base that thinks of Starbucks as an artisan coffee or even just a higher-end coffee brand. This automatically takes you one notch down in my eyes. I'm sure you've considered that and weighed the pros and cons. I'd be interested to hear what the consumer research showed that made you think offering instant coffee was a good idea.  

How exciting!  I can't wait to hear it next week.

BTW ArtM,  I agree with you on the Pike.  I don't dislike the Pike name, but just the taste needs to be impoved.  I want to see Pike do well, maybe SBUX can continue to adjust it's freshness and taste? I hope so!

Matt, As of now it's anybody's guess where Mc$tarbucks is taking this.

But I have one question: Is the cup and hot water extra 'bucks?

Matt,

My curiosity is piqued.  I'm crossing my fingers that you'll have an event in the L.A. area.   This new product may be what Starbucks needs to help turn things around.  If this is available in supermarkets (not just at Starbucks) at a competitive price, it would be great.  I look forward to this taking off!

I am holding "Hot Topics" Koffee Talks for Women (a networking group) of Women in Business Networking.  With the new instant coffee, I'd like to include the Star Bucks Instant Coffee into my first event being held on March 6th.  I'd like to partner with you Star Bucks in making this happen!  We will hold our "Hot Topics" Koffee Talks the first Friday of each month in Dayton, Ohio... Let's talk about this...can someone from corporate contact me?

From my perspective, most folks to whom the Starbucks brand means anything would be more likely to appreciate freshly prepared foods made from quality ingredients than processed foods. Quality in food and drink usually comes from artisianal techniques not industrial processes being applied to quality ingredients. Patented, canned, freeze dried food may not qualify as quality in many peoples' minds.

If there is a $17B market for instant coffee, then there is a group of consumers who are willing to spend a lot of money on products that taste nothing like a quality freshly ground, freshly brewed cup of coffee. Someone who is buying instant today, does not likely care about quality or taste. These folks may not be looking for a better version of instant coffee, and it may be that if your product truly tastes like your fresh product, the only customers who may want it might be those who like Starbucks coffee (i.e.: your current customers). Maybe there is as much market share to gain by attempting to sell your already perfected fresh product to the people who buy instant.

i'll probably try it but i have the preconceived notion i describe above, and i already buy your product. i never buy any brand of instant.

The day this product appears in my usual store will be my last day in a Starbucks.  Not only that, my stock will be sold as well.  If you want to do this in Europe, that's up to you but will trash Starbucks here in the US.  I heard something about this today in my usual store which is the first I have heard.  I can buy instant coffee in my grocery store for a considerable less cost as any one knows a Starbuck product will probably cost double.  In today's market when people are trying to conserve on their spending and what they buy is what they need, NOT NEW PRODUCTS AS COST BECOMES A HUGH FACTOR!  Someone at Starbucks has lost their mind or is living in utopia!  Starbucks is laying off people, closing stores and will no doubt, start raising prices soon to try to make up lost profits!  I would suggest they start with an examination of what is going on at Corporate and get rid of the "fat."  When you are charging double what you would pay at most places, IT BETTER BE OUTSTANDING AND REAL!

Dear Matthew, I confess that as a serious coffee drinker, I've resorted to instant on several occasions. I have a dear friend that I often visit who drinks only tea, and doesn't own any means of making a cup of coffee. Taking a little bottle of instant with me to her house is one solution, though not a great solution.   Maybe this will be no big deal and I'll keep an open mind.  I'm more upset about fast-food oriented directions like excessively adding new items to warming and value meals.   You see here's the problem Matthew: I am a snob. I admit I am snobby. When I go into Starbucks I want the snobby great experience, and I love it when the barista too is snobby about coffee.  I can't  see any black-apron barista in one breath saying, "try our Bella Vista Coffee - it sparkles and has nice medium body, or try our instant." It's not snobby enough for me. :(

Hi Melody!  I actually think being more like an average joe is better for Starbucks.  Unfortunately, it's very bad economically out there for almost everyone.  I think I want Starbucks to being cool by serving good product at value price.   I want to have great food and coffee that are made with great quality.  It doesn't matter in store or at home.  However, I don't think I should pay so much just to maintain a lifestyle or image.  It's important to realize there is a very bad recession out there which may last for years.  Even me is getting pinching my dollars now!  I hope we see better days soon.

JonnySF - my point was that I was snobby about coffee long before even when I had very little discretionary income. I think that Starbucks has to WORK to preserve what little image they have left. There was a time when McDonalds and Starbucks would not be uttered in the same breath. If Starbucks ever wants to go back to those halcyon days of high esteemed image, they have to bolster their image. A little instant coffee now, but the greater damage is the public perception of what Starbucks stands for. Once there's no more esteem of carrying around a white cup with a green siren, the business will die. Lots of great business decisions can't be quantified. Lots of nicknacks being sold at Target, Walgreens and other places is great for revenue but the greater damage of making the Siren look cheap cannot be quantified. Howard needs to pick up a copy of Blink by Malcolm Gladwell and work on his fabulous thin-slicing skills which lead him to make great decisions in the 90s. On another blog, I've read one person suggesting that Howard Schultz should read the Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell ... maybe I need to pick that up today ...

There is a certain snob appeal to drinking premium anything - including instant coffee. And if it tastes as good as they say, it should have a very wide appeal.

It could also increase mind share among people who are not Starbucks regulars - especially outside the US where instant is more popular. Get them drinking Starbucks instant, and they should be more likely to stop in a store for a cup, or to buy a cup when they get more instant.

For me, I can't walk 2 blocks from my office without hitting a Starbucks, there are great coffee houses in my Neighborhood and at I home I have a k-cup machine, so the product doesn't appeal to me.

CamSpi - K-Cups are pre-filled, single cup,  coffee cartridges for Keurig line of rapid coffee makers. Each cup takes about 3 minutes and use 1 cartridge. Each cartridge cost 25-50 cents on average. Starbucks currently makes T-cups for the to the competing Tassimo line of rapid coffee makers. Keurig seems to be the more popular product, at least among people I know.

UrbanVoy, every word you write always makes me think. Thank you.

i thought a "k" cup was seven sizes larger than a "d" cup.

Reading the comments of those folks concerned about "diminishing the brand" makes me think they've probably never operated a business.   A business that is in trouble needs to bring some creative new product to market to broaden the customer base and pump up both the top and bottom lines.  Folks, Starbuck's is a business, after all!

retaining the customers you have, winning back those that you've lost and selling real, fresh, high quality coffee to those who spend $17B on instant and any other inferior coffee product isn't "creative new product" ScrName, but it is how i'd fix Starbuck's if it was my business.

Starbucks instant coffee notwithstanding, it pleased me greatly to read that Melody classified herself as a "snob." I have known this for some time but have always loved her nonetheless. It is just good to read it in her own words.

Today I received an email from Matt offering me a free sample of VIA instant coffee for my review. I accepted his invitation.

Did anyone else (or everyone else) receive such an offer?

i certainly did not. probably due to my negative attitude and the extra cost of postage to Canada.

I got an free offer from Matt too!  Thanks Matt!  I cannot wait to try it...

i now have the offer from Matt, what a guy. i'll let you know what i think.

thanks

the taste is pretty good i'll admit. really the "micro grind"  seems to recreate what brewing coffee through a filter does; invisible little particles of coffee in solution with hot water. not a bad concept, i had been envisioning "flavor crystals" and "freeze drying" processes and all kinds of horrible  weird stuff but in the end what it accomplishes is brewing a cup of coffee in a cup rather than through a filter. market it like this to cynics like me and you may have an easier time convincing them.