A while ago I wrote a post about Starbucks Via, the instant coffee product that Starbucks launched in an attempt to retain its customers and get new ones in a recession.

A lot has happened since then.

It’s nearly impossible to ignore the so-called “coffee wars” going on between McDonalds, Starbucks and now, it seems Nescafe. In case you did managed to ignore the hype, McDonalds launched thousands of McCafes – full-fledged coffee bars with baristas and fancy coffees – right around the time that Starbucks’ earnings dropped 77%. Starbucks retaliated with a series of print ads that read things like, “Beware of a cheaper cup of coffee. It comes with a price.”

Now, only weeks after, and a few months after the launch of VIA instant coffee Nescafe is directly attacking Starbucks. “Starbucks makes great instant. We make great instant. So why does theirs cost 400% more?” they say in one of their print ads.

I am definitely not a coffee snob in the least bit — I appallingly can’t tell the difference between Starbucks and any other coffee and use it merely for its caffeine-wake-up-purposes with enough sugar and milk to mask the bitter taste. I was however, surprised that this recession has brought three companies with completely different audiences fighting for the same target. These are the Starbucks and McDonalds customers as profiled by Mosaic:

For Starbucks, it’s segment B03, the Urban Commuter Family, described as “college-educated households containing dual income couples.” These folks favor golfing as their exercise of choice. The segment that visits McDonald’s is type J03, the Struggling City Centers, described as “lower-income households living in city neighborhoods in the South.”

The gap between Nescafe and Starbucks seems even greater, Nescafe being well established as a value brand and Starbucks, despite its efforts with VIA to be cheaper, is still seen as a “premium coffee”. To me, an attack on Starbucks seems almost insulting to their current consumers who might not even afford the luxury of Starbucks. Attack ads are becoming more commonplace in the increasingly competitive market. However, both brands involved should stop and think about who their target is and if they are trying to introduce affordable luxuries to the masses or get people to downgrade their luxuries.