Shop Talk
Retailers, consumers and prices
Starbucks: Decaf Via coming soon
Starbucks says it will start selling a decaf version of its Via instant coffee in the United States on Nov 17.
The coffee chain, which in the middle of a corporate turnaround, hopes that Via will help it grab a big piece the $21 billion instant coffee market from established players like Nestle’s Nescafe and Kraft Foods Inc’s Sanka.
Borrowing from the old Pepsi vs. Coke taste challenges, Starbucks baristas for four days invited customers to do side-by-side comparisons of Via and its regular brew.
Starbucks says early indicators show that Via is exceeding expectations with regard to sales and customer and employee response.
The war over an instant
There’s a point in every Star Wars film when the good guy inevitably turns to his buddies and says, “I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” right before all the big explosions begin.
One can only imagine that is what Nescafe was thinking when they saw Starbucks’ VIA instant coffee mix arrive in Chicago, Seattle and London. After all, Nescafe is nearly synonymous with instant coffee.
-
Resident Shop Talk Expert
-
