First Impressions on Kopiko 78C

A week ago, we had our midterm exam for our marketing management course and it consisted of two parts: a multiple choice test and a case study. The multiple choice was easy enough but tricky since a lot of the questions always came down to two similarly good answers. Needless to say, it was the case study that bore the most weight for the exam and I was quite nervous because I never considered myself a marketing type of person.

The case study slightly surprised me not because I did not know the answers but that it was really quite a practical one since our professor gave us a product to assess, for free. That product was Kopiko 78C which was introduced just last year as a ready-to-drink coffee latte. I felt at that moment realizing what we were supposed to do that I was at a disadvantage since as you may have read from a previous blog post (article source: http://twocentsofmiah.blogspot.com/2012/01/sip-of-coffee.html), I do not drink coffee of any sort, whether brewed or iced, pure or mixed with cream or milk.

Since I needed to give an assessment of the product and what kind of benefit customers might perceive from it or how it can satisfy certain customer needs, I can't simply look at the labels, the packaging, or even rely on just the information given on the background of our case study. I had to taste this product which I so vehemently have eluded for most of my life partly because I like cocoa a lot and partly because my parents never really introduced me to coffee when I was young so I grew up never having tasted it or having any recollection of doing so. Well, I might have but perhaps I was coerced to do so and I just spat it out of my mouth. (Note: The same would be true for sodas but that would be another subject.)

I faced a dilemma: should I take a sip of this coffee beverage or should I simply rely on the case background and squirm my way through by just visualizing what coffee would taste like and why people would ever want to buy it?

Guess what, I simply took a sip from the bottle and my first impressions were "Wow, this was not how I imagined coffee latte would taste like," and "I might actually drink the whole bottle." I did drink the whole bottle and I thoroughly enjoyed it to my astonishment. I had never thought I would have the opportunity to taste coffee without being overwhelmed by it. Kopiko 78C was smooth and milky with just the right amount of coffee in my mouth so as not to overpower my taste buds. It wasn't so bad after all.

Perhaps it was due to the mixture of milk in the coffee that made it palatable for me because as I drank it, I thought it somehow tasted like cocoa except for the rich, exquisite coffee aroma that wafted through my senses. Also, it was quite a refreshing beverage unlike brewed coffee or iced coffee that are either too hot or too cold for me. Kopiko 78C was just the right temperature, the right taste, and the right experience of coffee for me.

I am still thinking about whether I would try it out again because I simply do not have enough compelling reason to do so. If I were to pull an all-nighter, it might be useful for me to drink Kopiko 78C but as it stands, I am still sailing uncharted waters. But I am now willing to give coffee a chance. Not brewed though, it will never replace my hot cocoa in the morning.