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<generator>Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/</generator><item><title><![CDATA[Starbucks 'VIA' instant coffee tastes good, but less profit-filling?]]></title><link>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/02/18/starbucks-via-instant-coffee-tastes-good-but-less-profit-fill/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/02/18/starbucks-via-instant-coffee-tastes-good-but-less-profit-fill/</guid><comments>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/02/18/starbucks-via-instant-coffee-tastes-good-but-less-profit-fill/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/launches/" rel="tag">Launches</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/consumer-experience/" rel="tag">Consumer Experience</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/sbux/" rel="tag">Starbucks (SBUX)</a></p><img alt="" hspace="4" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.bloggingstocks.com/media/2009/02/starbucks_via.jpg" align="right" vspace="4" border="0" />Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has finely crafted his publicity around yesterday's unveiling of Starbucks VIA, the instant coffee product to be sold at <a href="http://finance.aol.com/quotes/starbucks-corporation/sbux/nas" target="_blank">Starbucks</a> (NASDAQ: <a href="http://finance.aol.com/quotes/starbucks-corporation/sbux/nas" target="_blank">SBUX</a>) outlets starting next month. In a <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/howard-schultz/staying-real-in-an-instan_b_167381.html">blog post at the Huffington Post, Schultz wrote</a> that "the brands that endure are those that adapt to the changing needs of their customers, without forsaking their core values," and that his company believes "introducing a paradigm-changing and better-tasting instant coffee is a way to bring quality and value to the mass market, and to turn on a whole new set of coffee drinkers to the Starbucks brand."<br /><br />My <a href="http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/02/14/starbucks-is-pursuing-the-wrong-target-market/">initial reaction was one of incredulity</a>; but I was surprised that <a href="http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2009/02/13/starbucks-instant-coffee-to-be-revealed-next-week/">many commenters seemed excited</a> about the product. And in <a href="http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2009/02/17/the-starbucks-via-taste-test-is-is-really-better-than-your-mo/">yesterday's taste test conducted by WalletPop and BloggingStocks staffers</a> in New York City, the general reaction was that the product tastes good; and was attractively packaged. <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Will customers actually buy it?</span> I wondered. The answer to that is yet to be determined, but I can't help wondering if all the pundits are wrong.<br /><br /><p><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/02/18/starbucks-via-instant-coffee-tastes-good-but-less-profit-fill/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Starbucks 'VIA' instant coffee tastes good, but less profit-filling?</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/02/18/starbucks-via-instant-coffee-tastes-good-but-less-profit-fill/">Starbucks 'VIA' instant coffee tastes good, but less profit-filling?</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com">BloggingStocks</a> on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 08:45:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/02/18/starbucks-via-instant-coffee-tastes-good-but-less-profit-fill/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/forward/1463591/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/02/18/starbucks-via-instant-coffee-tastes-good-but-less-profit-fill/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>inthenews</category><category>sbux</category><category>starbucks</category><category>starbucks via</category><category>StarbucksVia</category><category>via</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Sarah Gilbert]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 18 Feb 2009 08:45:00 EST</pubDate></item></channel></rss>
