Starbucks Via

Starbucks launched a new product, starbucks via. Simply put, it's instant coffee. But it's not just a ordinary instant coffee. It spent two decade of development period.
I immediately bought it, and I tried... Yep, It's delicious!!

There is just one thing I have on my chest, which is the branding strategy of Starbucks. This new product could damage Starbucks as a brand in the long run. Starbucks VIA is essentially an instant coffee to make at home, which doesn't go with the usual selling point of Starbucks. The current success of Starbucks is it's unique coffeehouse experience (the Starbucks experience) and being the neighbourhood gathering place (Starbucks is the "third place" where people would be after home and work / school). I think the new product will increase the sales of Starbucks in the short run but the same cannot be said of the long run.


I think we need more time to evaluate the new product.