Starbucks’ announced on August 31st that it will welcome a new member to its product portfolio. For the first time ever, Starbucks will sell instant coffee.

Starting at the end of September, customers will be able to purchase Starbucks VIA Ready Brew at all locations in the U.S. and Canada. Starbucks claims that VIA is not your typical instant coffee, it is more full-bodied and flavorful. In other words, VIA is supposed to taste like Starbucks brewed coffee in instant coffee form.

Starbucks’ choice to offer an instant version of their coffee could be a result of market segmentation into two main groups of coffee drinkers. One group drinks coffee for functional reasons, to keep them awake at work for example. This group may buy Starbucks coffee from a drive-thru window or grab a cup to take away; they are not buying the coffee for personal indulgence or status. Another consumer group purchases Starbucks coffee for the brand experience. They want to enjoy aromatic, rich coffees, read books, and visit with their friends, all in a comfortable and high-end atmosphere. There are likely other consumer profiles, but these two groups stand out in particular.

Risks lie in Starbucks’ latest move. While the new instant coffee may appeal to the functional coffee drinkers, VIA could potentially dilute Starbucks’ brand knowledge, one of the four pillars of brand equity. The Starbucks brand is associated with high quality and a brand experience. Though quality is stressed in VIA’s communication, coffee drinkers may still regard VIA as a low-end coffee product that is not consistent with Starbucks usual offering. (The price of VIA stands at about $0.8 per serving, which is much cheaper than a $4 Starbucks latte, for example.) With the introduction of VIA, customers may become confused about what the Starbucks brand truly stands for. And if that happens, Starbucks could see its brand equity start to slip.

See our previous post on another recent branding move by Starbucks here.