Starbucks has added a light vanilla Frappacino as well as a light vanilla coffee + energy to their line. They are still far from low cal though. I think they are like 30% less calorie. I have yet to have a truly low calorie RTD coffee though.

Originally Posted by greg

"Coke's had zero success with the coffee. Personally, I thought that the Caribou were undrinkable, I didn't like the taste at all. To me, Godiva (along with Cinnabon) screams "FULL OF CALORIES" - and doesn't really work from a positioning standpoint. Godiva is an incredibly high end brand, and not the kind of brand I see doing well in a convenience store."


You are so on point with the statement above. Even though I am aware of the High Claories in the Frappacino products (Mocha is my favorite) I looked at both Godiva and Cinnabon as being truly a "treat" type product and not an everyday drink like I considered the Frapp.

And for the record, I can really appreciate the "science" you bring to the table. Life is more than sugar and carbonated water!!!!

Originally Posted by Whynatte

oh, and as for Georgia coffee, this may be an already known fact but I hear Coke sells more Georgia coffee in Japan than they do Coke. Crazy.

Also heard that they've explored the idea of bringing Georgia coffee to the US, but they can't get the "Georgia" trademark in this country. Not sure if this is 100% true, but living in Atlanta you hear a lot of Coke rumors. From what I hear they'd have to name it something different. Also, the taste that works so well in Asia may not work with the US consumer - from my own personal experience with the Asian rtd coffees, they're totally different than those in the US.

They've brought the name to the US, but not the products. They're selling Georgia brand ground coffee to Outback Steakhouse... seems like an odd place to start a test/trial, if that's what they're doing.

Originally Posted by fusion

Seattle's Best does have name recognition. But unfortunately, that didn't help Coke's Caribou RTD coffees. Coke also tried the indulgent Godiva coffee drinks and Planet Java, with little success. Their latest offering is Illy, but it's in very limited markets, and goes through strong independent distributors with experience in building specialty brands, not through the Coke bottling system.

Even the Starbucks name didn't help the Pepsi offered Italian coffees, they bombed. I am willing to bet that probably 75%+ (maybe even more) of people think only of Frappuccinos when they think of Starbucks.

I wonder if Coke would ever consider bringing the Georgia coffee line to the US.

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I think that Seattle's Best may prove to be a smart move for Starbucks. I say this because it allows them to be a player in the discount rtd coffee market without taking anything away from the premium image of the Starbucks brand. They can keep their premium pricing with the Stabucks line, and then attract a new value oriented customer with the Seattle's Best.

Originally Posted by fusion

They've brought the name to the US, but not the products. They're selling Georgia brand ground coffee to Outback Steakhouse... seems like an odd place to start a test/trial, if that's what they're doing.

I noticed that at the Coke booth at NACS. They didn't have any of the Georgia RTD coffee's, only brewed/iced coffee systems for what looked like c-stores and large fast food chains. It tasted pretty good, although it was a little sweet for me personally. Outback certainly does seem like an odd place to test this brand, but Coke has a knack for doing things that seem like strange fits for their brands. Also, I don't really understand why they're pushing the Georgia brand, when they've put such a large investment behind Illy.

Anyone know how Illy is working out for Coke?

I spoke to a guy from Coke's Emerging Brands division and was told that they are very pleased with their progress so far and will continue to concentrate their efforts on the East/West coasts for now.