Starbucks Coffee Introducing a New Item This Summer 2008

As many of you have heard there has been some buzz brewing this spring about the arrival of a new item at your local Starbucks Coffee shop.
A lot of people have been trying to figure out and guess what that item might be. In a print interview given in May 31,2008 Starbucks Coffee CEO Howard Schultz said- "In July we will introduce a fantastic new summer product in Los Angeles... . We found a fantastic new cold-beverage platform in Italy, and as a result of that we are bringing it to the market. It is a product that is both indulgent and refreshing... . It is steeped in Italian heritage. I can't tell you more than that."

Well from all my online research and gossip around, I have come to a very confident conclusion as to what that item might be. Internally it is being called "Project Ferrari" but it does not have a formal name yet. The new item being introduced into the Starbucks menu is the Italian Granita Caffe con Panna (Coffee Ice with whipped cream). It is Italian with rumored provenance of Sicily. It is traditionally served in a 6 or 8 oz glass. It is flavored ice slushy-like in consistency and some are even like sorbet. In this case the flavor is coffee since it is Starbucks Coffee.

It is a summer staple in Italy as a way to cool off and beat the heat. Other cultures have very similar takes on this like the Hawaiian's with shaved ice, the Hispanic raspados (fruit flavored shaved ice) and the good old American convenience store slushy. But of course the Italians take it to the next level and make it more rich and flavorful with coffee and whipped cream, plus it can be had as a snack or dessert. So its not really anything revolutionary but a slightly different variation on something most people are familiar with such as the iced coffees. And it is a versatile enough product that it can be had for lunch or dinner. This makes sense for Starbucks Coffee to add this item to their menu. In October 2007 Maveron, the venture capital firm headed by Starbucks CEO-Howard Schultz invested in Pinkberry frozen yogurt. And Pinkberry introduced a new flavor, coffee, in January 2008 to compliment its regular and green tea frozen yogurts.

In any type of industry it is extremely important to be evolving and expanding to keep up competitively. It is a business and you need to make money so corporations have to be vibrant and relevant to the consumer or else risk of failing and dying completely. You want to be a leader and not a follower. More so not get stuck in the middle of the market. You don't want to be thought of as old, average or indifferent. Because that can be the kiss of death to a business.

Starbucks Coffee has enjoyed quite a very successful rise for over 15 years. But that journey is starting to have lows and valleys. Nothing lasts forever and life is full of changes. You fail to plan and you plan to fail. One has to be proactive and not reactive. Will this resurrect the creator of the $4 latte? It sure cannot hurt, and I for one will definitely sample it and see if its worthy.