Does Decaf Instant Via Make Sense For Starbucks?

Posted by Stephanie Startz on October 12, 2009 07:33 PM

While initial consumer reaction is warm, does Starbucks' new instant Via warrant a decaf companion?

Reporting that Via has "exceeded expectations" after two weeks on the market, Starbucks today announced a decaffeinated option to their new instant coffee line by mid-November. Hoping to further bolster fourth-quarter sales. Starbucks is offering decaf Via just in time for the holiday season.

The rational behind Via made sense. Busy professionals need a quick, portable and cheap(er) caffeine delivery system. Twenty years in development and Starbucks delivers Via, a product that promises to be all those things and taste just like Starbucks in-store drip coffee.

But does a decaffeinated instant coffee really belong in Starbucks' stable?

We wrote earlier that Via instant coffee seems a distraction from Starbucks' more pressing priorities of shoring up the core brand, so decaf Via strikes us as even more of a wrong turn. True, Starbucks' competitor Nescafe offers instant decaf. But the very concept of competing with Nescafe works against the Starbucks brand.

Starbucks Via decaf will be packaged in the same manner as regular Starbucks Via: single serving sleeves. But why do you need decaf coffee on the go? If Starbucks feels the need to compete with Nescafe, it would make sense to package their decaf coffee similarly, in large servings that consumers could measure out. Perfect for family dinners around the holidays.

We know how you feel about Starbucks Via, so tell us: Is Starbucks Via decaf further diminishing the core brand?

More about: Starbucks, Nescafe, Via, Coffee, Food

Renee Yeager says:

Nearly harassed by my Starbucks barista, I opted to try a sample of Via and ended up buying a small package to try on my own. I'm not disappointed -- it's fine for its intended purpose and a much higher quality than any instant coffee on the market today. While I think it takes the Starbucks brand in a different direction, I'm not sure it's a bad one. It's definitely customer-centric -- demonstrating a commitment to serving their customers in a new way -- and promotes loyalty, which seem to be two core attributes of the brand. You can almost equate it to the Starbucks drive-thru: Is it on-brand? Questionable. Does it give customers more options to enjoy their product? You bet.

As far as a decaf product goes, it just offers customers more options. Honestly, I would buy decaf Via to keep at home for nights when I want a good cup of coffee and don't want to brew a pot or run out to get one. Starbucks keeps my loyalty and my money.

October 14, 2009 12:03 AM #

Michael Gold says:

If the initial Via offering truly does diminish the core brand, and I have not been as quick as others to jump on that bandwagon, offering a decaf variety does not exacerbate the situation. It's just part of the instant option, not a step in a new direction.

October 16, 2009 09:13 AM #

Greg Zimmer says:

I think Via makes sense for them. It's a large category segment (instant coffee), and they didn't do a "me too" for the sake of getting into it. They spent time and energy to do it right. Via tastes good in my opinion (vs. other instant options).

Starbucks challenge is to continue to grow and stretch their portfolio with new products like Via, that meet genuine consumer needs, without diluting the core brand promise. Recall that they've even said that they're not simply a coffee company (...the third place). What they offer is so much more. That being said, maybe just don't need what they offer on EVERY street corner in America.

October 16, 2009 03:58 PM #

tony altilia says:

Starbucks just blinked. Once again driven by the belief that bigger is better rather than better being better Starbucks introduces Via to compete with McDonald's and in Canada Tim Horton's.
If Starbucks is determined to line extend it must do so in a fashion consistent with its core brand position..the third place. If the question was asked "How do we make the third place an even more customer centric destination?' one would unlikely answered "with instant coffee".

October 19, 2009 06:44 AM #

Alison says:

For a brand that's trying desperately to recapture it's roots as a company who cherishes artisan coffee, I don't see a place for instant coffee at all, let alone decaf - This is just further proof that Starbucks is selling out. Don't they know by now that small is the new big?

October 19, 2009 05:56 PM #

Vassilis Bakopoulos says:

I am not convinced that via is a wrong move.
I feel that the the idea of a third place, while different for the US ten years ago is not enough to keep them going for ever. when I see starbucks advertising "more than a coffee, an experience" I feel that they are desperate to spoon feed me what I thought I already knew, so I have a problem with that, I feel that there is nothing new, nothing left.
So product innovation is part of the deal and I feel that from that point of view Via is a good move. it really tastes good, and I am consuming more Starbucks because of that, not cannibalizing other occasions. Actually, it brought me back to the store a couple of times. I also wonder if the profit margin is higher for Via.

October 20, 2009 04:21 PM #

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The instant product -- called Via -- has been many years in the making, according to Starbucks, and is designed to mimic the taste of store-bought Starbucks. Some Starbucks will begin selling Via next month.

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