Starbucks - 25 Years In The Making & Gone In An Instant...

So last week, the purveyor of high end coffee drinks, the self-promoted creator of luxury coffee, the name that taught Americans what was acceptable and not acceptable in making a good cup of joe - announced it was launching an instant coffee.

Instant?

As in Maxwell house? As in Folgers? As in Taster's Choice? As in a product known for bad taste, cheap, and lousy?

Why, after spending all those years impressing on people the need to roast the beans just right, to use only spring water, heated to just the right temperature, and served by a practiced professional, would they now say, they can give you the same great taste in an instant, powered coffee? Why would they undermine their brand by aligning it with a bottom of the barrel category?

UBS analyst David Palmer, said of the instant coffee - "It's no big deal," he says. "What's different about soluble coffee is that it's equated with poor quality."

Hmmmmmmm, would a company really undermine its brand and long-term prospects to leverage that brand for some very short-term profits? Apparently so.

What's next? Will Tiffany's start producing cubit zirconium rings? Will Chanel start making $29.95 plastic handbags?

Hmmmmmm, there may be a reason brand leaders are very careful about ensuring their products match their brands.

Let's all watch and see what happens when Starbucks - "Seattle's Best" puts its toe in the worst coffee category. Will it become Seattle's Worst?

This could be more fun than watching Coca Cola try and launch New Coke. We all know how well that turned out....