Starbucks Hopes to Spice Up Sales With Flavored Coffee

Wishing that, like customizable Frappuccinos, your cup of Starbucks joe came in an assortment of different flavors? Well, you're in luck. Today, the coffee behemoth announced plans to roll out Natural Fusions, its first-ever line of flavored coffee. The ground coffee hits supermarkets next month, will be available in three different flavors - vanilla, caramel, and cinnamon - and will retail for $8.99 per 11-ounce bag. The company spent three years researching and developing the coffees. While traditional flavored coffees are created by spraying flavoring onto coffee beans, Starbucks hopes to distinguish Natural Fusions from other brands through its roasting process, which involves grinding botanicals such as sarsaparilla in with arabica coffee beans. With VIA instant coffee and now Natural Fusions, it seems Starbucks hopes to tap into the less prestigious - but no less lucrative - market of home-brewed coffee. Do you believe this strategy will tarnish the brand's prestige image? Does the idea of Starbucks flavored coffee appeal to you?

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