For its 40-year long history, Starbucks has released a plethora of products, which were appreciated by millions of consumers, and it seems to be hard to surprise them with something new. But the new blend is truly innovative: yesterday, on October 18, company presented Starbucks Blonde Roast, the lightest coffee roast ever sold within the chain, continuing the brand’s commitment to offer its consumers products that fit their tastes (like it was with the introduction of Starbucks VIA Ready Brew instant coffee). With the new offering, the company also introduces new coffee packaging organized by roast—there’ll be blonde, medium and dark varieties.
Photo: New Starbucks coffee packaging organized by roast
“We recognized the unmet consumer need for a super-premium light roast coffee, and our coffee developers went to work to craft a great-tasting, quality lighter roast coffee we are proud to stand behind. This is a significant opportunity for Starbucks to gain a greater share of the brewed coffee market,” commented Cliff Burrows, Starbucks president of the Americas.
The idea to offer consumers lighter coffee is based on the findings of the Starbucks Consumer Research 2010 showing that over 40% of U.S. coffee drinkers (it’s about 54 million consumers) prefer a lighter roast coffee to the ‘heavier’ categories. It took the company a year to develop the new product—“through 80 variations we perfected the Blonde Roast curve and developed the exact taste we were striving for”—but it doesn’t seem that long considering the fact that Starbucks spent 20 years creating the perfect VIA formula. The Blond roast will be sold in two varieties, Veranda and Willow, at retail stores and groceries starting in January 2012—it will be available in whole bean, roast and ground, Starbucks VIA Ready Brew and K-Cup Portion Packs.
“Not only does Starbucks Blonde Roast provide Starbucks with an opportunity to reach a new category of coffee drinkers within the $5.6B U.S. packaged coffee category, but by organizing our coffees by Blonde, Medium, and Dark, it makes it easier for our customers to find the taste that appeals to them. This is important, since the average consumer spends about 60 seconds in the coffee aisle to make a purchasing decision, based on taste and intensity. We believe the result for Starbucks will be an increased share of the coffee market,” added Jeff Hansberry, president, Channel Development for Starbucks.
Photo: Starbucks Blonde Roast