Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Extending the Illy Coffee Brand
I'm a big fan of Illy coffee, the high end line of espresso coffee from Italy. I discovered it at Whole Foods market, and I'm willing to pay a premium for this very good coffee. Now, I read in Fast Company that Illy is coming out with a new product line... canned coffee beverages. The article reviews the new products, and asks the question: "Is it premium enough?" That certainly seems like a relevant question. One has to wonder whether Illy risks damaging their brand with this product line introduction. Will the firm's quality image suffer at all? We certainly have seen this story before with Starbucks' expansion efforts. It will be interesting to watch consumers' reactions to Illy's growth plans. Of course, this product launch also directly threatens Starbucks' own canned coffee business. The battle is on.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Michael,
This may sound a little crazy, but I think that one thing Illy has going for it in terms of their extension into canned coffee beverages is ... Illy's expertise in *cans*.
There is something special about Illy's cans for their loose coffee (the canisters with the lovely screw-back-on lids) as well as the rectangles for their espresso in pods. Their cans have a very unique tactile/haptic "feel" as well as sound, that helps to communicate the 'je ne sais quoi' of their brand.
If they can translate any of this into their beverage cans, it will give coffee fanatics (rather obviously, folks like me) a reason to *prefer* Illy canned beverages over those of Starbucks.
This is one of those situations where their uncelebrated yet core competency might be a strategic advantage for connecting with consumers.
cvh
Great point... I had never thought of that issue, but it is true that they have terrific packaging.
Post a Comment